When is a painting of the landscape not a landscape painting? When it's an uncomplicated collection of stunning colour on a square canvas that evokes the experience, as much as distils the physicality, of a place. Cornish does this very well.
Here are depictions of the Pilbara; not the gorges but the salt lakes, not the mountains but the dunes, not the desolation but the life; and always the colour, the rich oranges of the earth, warm and cool greens of the bush, striking blue of the sky. Those exhibits that offer pictorial references to landscape have the image divided by a high horizon, a boundary marking the limits of each bold band of colour. Other exhibits provide aerial views that are smooth abstract patterns involving areas of hot orange and spots of cool blue-green on a grey white surface.
The stillness of the paintings support a meditative state of mind. For example Dunes, 5000 feet, involves two tones of a soft orange hue that covers the whole surface. Floating in a diagonal direction across this sea of orange are two yellow ochre freeform stripes. Although a different hue they are of the same value and intensity so gently activate the surface. One can drift away in this work. Then in Salt lake, late evening a different form of serenity takes over. Here coloured bands are formed as the 'lake' at the bottom of the canvas reflects the mauve and blue of the 'sky' at the top. Meanwhile the horizon is marked by a single green line that seems to hold down the heat of the yellow and orange earth. Picture or pattern these are calming compositions to contemplate.
The peace and quietude of the exhibition is interrupted by those few images that offer a sense of a slow but steady movement as nature is never still and has an eternity to achieve its goal. Dune with poverty bush is one example as the blue green bushes appear to gently roll over the crest of the dune in an effort join the steady horizontal line of their kin.
This is a thoughtful exhibition of works that are beautiful to behold.