The “Lockdown Exhibition”, is to be the first art exhibition to be held in the recently refurbished Lorne Community Connect Centre.
Bob and Carol Sinclair retired to Lorne in 2013. Bob had a distinguished career as an architect, working with Daryl Jackson designing projects that include the County Court of Victoria, the Australian Chancery Complex Saudi Arabia and the Canberra School of Arts. Committed to the education of architecture and design, Bob has tutored architecture students at Deakin University, the University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Bob is an accomplished artist who has participated in many artwork exhibitions.
In Lorne, Bob is an active member of our community. He is currently president of the Lorne Men’s Shed, a member of the Project Control Group overseeing the pavilions redevelopment at Stribling Reserve and a member of the Lorne Bowls Club. It is little wonder that during the first lockdown for the COVID pandemic, Bob became a little restless and he decided to create an artwork per day for one month.
Bob called this collection of work “Lockdown” and shown here is one of the thirty paintings.
When discussing this collection with me Bob wrote that: “the late Australian painter and sculptor Colin Lanceley said: “painting and drawing is about life experience, without it you’ve got nothing”. He added, architecture underpins my life experience, so these 30 small drawings reflect I hope, that belief.
Mainly black and white with colour near the end, they reflect the general mood of the time. “You may read them as architectural elements, the process sees me clinging to some shape, line or colour; but in the end they must coalesce to have compositional strength”, said Bob.
Bob, along with fellow architect Chris Wood, designed the new façade to the Lorne Historical Society. Since the work has been completed the positive community reaction has been rewarding for all concerned and it motivated the Society, led by Peter Spring together with Bob and Chris, to apply to the Surf Coast Shire for stage two funding. We were delighted that the project was included in the 2020/2021 budget and I wish to thank Cr. Clive Goldsworthy for his strong support during the budget discussions.
As with stage one, the community must match the Shire dollar for dollar; with this in mind, Bob made the decision to frame his drawings and offer them for sale with ALL PROCEEDS being donated to the Lorne Historical Society, for the community contribution to the stage two project. A very generous gift to the Society and the Lorne Community.
Because of the COVID restrictions we must limit the number of community members who can see the exhibition at any one time. We have therefore decided, as the arrangements must be flexible and the people attending registered, to hold four Saturday viewings during August and that each viewing will be by invitation. Hopefully, as the restrictions are soon lifted the time the exhibition is opened will be extended.
If you wish to be included on the list for Saturday 22 and 29 August, between 6.00 – 7.00 pm please email lornecommunityconnect@gmail.com to register. Bob will be present at these August openings to answer any questions who may have. This will be the first exhibition in the space and highlights the new purpose of the Centre – as a space to promote local art and culture.
Gary Allen
President, Lorne Community Connect
