Inside Out (and Upside Down) is a useful thematic for a group show of work across a wide variety of media.  It allows for personal individual statement whilst providing collective muscle for a wider airing of the work by a number of artists who happen to live in Denmark, a particular geographic location which, in one model, might be designated as "Regional" by the "Centre", in this case Perth/Fremantle. In terms of this model, Inside Out provides proof that the Arts Development dollar is being spread constructively beyond this centre, and that the flow is sometimes reversed from the regions back.

When I asked why so many artists/craftspeople lived in Denmark, the reply was that it was beautiful and nature was welcoming, making it "a good place to sit and chill out, to contemplate one's navel for a while, and explore one's creativity or recharge it."  What is clear from both the artists' works and their catalogue statements is that they are all doing what they were doing anyway, and that regardless of the outcomes of this show, they will continue to do so.  If inhabiting Denmark means anything "special" in a wider context, these artists imply that here they have the freedom to pursue their own artistic bent without pressure to conform to a perceived art establishment , "subculture or scene", with corresponding definitions or trends. There is a belief that the artists as individuals can, and do, define their own networks, and that their work reaches out beyond their locale.

So I decided to review Inside Out at face value and as separate works by individual artists. However, there appear to be two  definite groups of individual artists whose works clearly reference each other. Those working with wood (perhaps because this particular material seems to exert such powerful conditions on those who pursue its essence) and those working with mosaic.

I enjoyed the time spent in this exhibition with its different voices, styles and media. Country artists in Australia have an inventiveness with materials, which is a recognizable genre, and so I appreciate Chris Reid's wacky bough shelter with wood, tin and many twists, and Mark Wylde's rough way flag.  For most of those working two-dimensionally, their art is either a reflection of themselves 'inside out', the process of turning the inside out, or of applying one's heart and spirit from the inside out onto canvas or fabric.  I loved the exuberance of Michele Mora's figures, a drawn novella making the private public perhaps, whilst Barbara Thayne's paintings are clearly a very personal pursuit, expressing small moments of shared vibrancy.  Although a little uneven in result, Debbie Elvin's body prints form an interesting installation, and her use of a variety of pigments to draw and paint is impressive.  I appreciated Andre Steyl's Untitled, Unfinished, but something to do with a Ritual and its place in the personal obsession he follows through his video projection of the dancing woman in red and digital prints as well as paintings.  But it is no match for the strong performance piece by Marlene O'Dea  which I watched at the opening and can be seen in the beautifully filmed video record remaining upstairs.

For the wood craftsmen, most fuse their process of working from the inside out to the organic growth patterns of their chosen material. They speak of releasing the form within, of observation from without to look within. Rob Fairclough's superb sculptures Man on the Move and Towards the Sky and the small, considered works of Stephen Ayling embody this  beautifully.  There are some large and finely crafted, organic but a tad funky glass panels by Andy Ducker, who has clearly been working a long time, and two very funky metal sculptures inset with glass mosaic. The Aussie Prayer Wheel succeeds entirely, but despite its wonderful stove-door sails, the ship's hull of A Long Journey remains unresolved. Back to work, Andy!

There are several other pieces I really enjoyed, for no particular reason at all, such as Lucia Golebiowski's tiny delicate watercolour, Ammanita and Christopher, and Andrea Ebsworth-Ghatfy's metamorphic pot on plinth. All in all, I would argue, this exhibition identifies these artists and their art, both within their own community and beyond as being from Denmark, not in terms of 'regional art', or as a 'movement', but as 'a community of artists'.  Undoubtedly this exhibition will open 'mainstream' doors to several, and confirm the place of those who are already 'inside',  but who choose to live and work in the country.  It is interesting to ponder such trajectories.