Swing baby swing

By Sharne Wolff

Myfanwy Gullifer hails from Walcha – a small town in northwest NSW, which these days is well known for its Open Air Sculpture Gallery and active community of artists.  Swing Baby Swing is the latest exhibition of Gullifer’s vividly coloured ceramic sculptures.

Each of Gullifer’s small porcelain creations is an ode to Gullifer’s imagination. She creates her ceramic stories using two now familiar characters – a large-breasted blonde woman who wears red heels and lips and black fishnet stockings, and her constant companion, Lucky, the sparsely spotted mask-wearing dog. These two are like actors playing out scenes from chapters in Gullifer’s book of fantastic adventures. Sometimes they come together to contemplate the domestic such as in The Tyranny of Pegs or Drowning in the Detritus of the Day to Day. In other pieces they’re in relax mode, as in Lazy Sunday, or out on the town in Take Two Fred’s Lounge.  There are a few nods to social history in Bex, a Soft Bristle Brush and a Good Lie Down, Instant Printing and Box Set of Smooch Time. In every small snippet of time there’s plenty happening and Gullifer uses bright colour as a way of enticing the viewer into her narrative.Most of these works also have a touch of the sexy; in it’s cheeky old-fashioned sense. Whatever they get up to, Gullifer has created a sense of mystery and a more-than-meets-the-eye feel to each whimsical moment.

Until March 16

King Street Gallery on William, Darlinghurst

www.kingstreetgallery.com.au