Men's shed talent put on show at Riverland art gallery
An exhibition in South Australia is highlighting the artistic talents of some often-shy rural men.
Locals from the men's shed in the Riverland town of Waikerie are getting behind the exhibition at the town's Rain Moth Gallery.
Bob Kemp is one of those often found working at the shed.
"Probably 90 per cent of the men in town have never been into the art gallery," he said.
"They come from varying trades, I suppose. We've got farmers, welders, carpenters, plumbers, electricians ... all different types, so not really arty type people.
"But this was an opening for them, [it] opened their eyes up a little bit."
Art gallery wanted more men to visit
The Man Cave exhibition celebrates some Riverland talent which had been hidden until now.
Curator Karen Richardson said the gallery clientele had been largely female in the past.
"The women often said 'Oh I've only got 10 minutes, that's all my husband's allowed me', so we were trying to think of an idea to get men through the door and into the gallery," she said.
"The range and the quality of the work I think surprised me."
One of the local artists, Anthony Leske, created a plastic head with a black dog inside, symbolising depression.
"[I used] a laser cutter, starting off as flat sheets of material 1.5-millimetre thick, and laser cut each layer, 210 layers and built it up one by one," he said.
Among other items, Ivan Kuchel used his needlework skills to create a coat of arms.
The exhibition of the local men's efforts will be on show until the end of February.
