Mysterious Swimmer 2 – Ambrose Reisch

The exhibition conveys the socio-spatial dynamics of living on the Hawkesbury River where Reisch explores the relationship between the river and effects of human occupation and industry. The exhibition comprises paintings, drawings, artist notebooks and a video.

This exhibition was previously shown at Macquarie University Art Gallery, Sydney in November 2022. A touring exhibition and accompanying materials can be tailored to the proposed space.

Reisch builds a narrative across the exhibition which touches on the history of the River including the asylum established on Peat Island in 1904, the Indigenous presence reflected in several works, the presence of the railways, fishing and oyster farming industries, the fragility of the mangroves and contemporary issues of privatization of public land. In short the exhibition focusses on the natural environment rich with middens and unrequited rituals counterbalanced with the industrial landscape and human occupation.