As a child, I spent a lot of time at the Fry Brothers Orchard in Bathurst; as an art student, I was employed as a peach picker in the orchard. I remember the intense smell of the fruit, the colour of the blossom and the changing of the seasons.
I often go back to the orchard in my mind and so this has been a recurrent theme in my work – for example, in 2003, the Bathurst Regional Gallery presented an exhibition of paintings, drawings and sculpture from my early experiences at the orchard (https://www.merrickfry.com/the-orchard-2003).
The work in this exhibition is influenced by the calligraphic drawings from China and Japan. The exhibition attempts to reflect the magic of orchards, including the changing seasons. The major work ‘Apple Orchard in Four Seasons’ is 9 metres long and painted on rice paper. I had to sew cotton onto the back of the work to give it stability. This is also a common approach in calligraphic painting.
I believe that art should speak to people in local communities and not be confined to art galleries. I have lived in Annandale for nearly 30 years and I am grateful to the Hunter Baillie Church for allowing me to show my work in Annandale.