Artists of migrant stock in Australia talk about efforts to capture a spirit, or sense, of place and lock it in their paintings. To this end they look to the empty spaces, the edge of the ocean or the middle of a desert, find vast vistas of beauty where they search for the 'spirit' of the land or a sense of 'belonging'. The result is a plethora of splendid paintings full of colour and mood but devoid of humanity. Linda van der Merwe shifts her sight from awesome panorama to the everyday environment, the local community, the city, the port, and discovers how a sense (or spirit) of place is located in the people not the topography.

In this exhibition van der Merwe moves into the Port of Fremantle and, as she's done before in Mundaring and Perth's City Farm, observes people at work, learns how they fit into the overall scene, builds up a rapport and finds mutual respect. With a genuine interest in her subjects and excellent artistic skills, the artist is able to present a collection of 'portraits' of place as well as images of the people who provide its spirit.

We all know Freo as a Port City yet tend to look along the 'cappuccino strip' in search of its character. The working part of the port may not be a place of glamour but there certainly is a beauty to be found in its linear patterns, scale relationships, dark hues and hard edged shapes. This is what we see in van der Merwe's exhibits then we find, weaving in and around these rigid design elements, the bright colours and fluid lines of the human figure. The artist has given the port a 'personality', the quay comes alive with the presence of C Team as they secure a line, drive a fork lift or pull duty in the Control Room.

Van der Merwe manipulates colour well in any medium. Her large horizontal acrylic on canvas Night Harbour, Fremantle is more then a rhythm of dark browns and high key yellows, it also includes a melody of blues and oranges and a pattern of shadows, that anchor the sharply asymmetrical composition to reality. It is a powerful and fascinating image, so very real yet bordering on the mysterious.

Equally fascinating, in a more human light, is the pastel Evening Arrival, Kwinana that shows a single man standing at the edge of a jetty, dwarfed by the prow of a ship silhouetted against a calm sea and billowing sky. The image could have been ominous except for the casual yet commanding Dave who holds the 'heaving line'. In these and other images of C team at work amid huge vessels, cranes, ropes and bollards, the smallest component of the compositions, the figure, emits the most strength.

Van der Merwe also presents acrylic portraits of the individuals in the team, all proudly presented in their safety coloured overalls, and a selection of smaller pictures in gouache depicting a woman with her favourite things (family photos) and a man with his joys in life (his van and picking olives). The artist's pictorial accuracy is enhanced by a fine use of clear colour and confident mark making.

In all these exhibits, large depictions of a working port and smaller representations of those who inhabit its environment, we see the true spirit of the place, it lives in the people who call it their home. This is an excellent exhibition by an artist who has found her own sense of place within the Australian art scene.