“It’s a beautiful, quite tiny fragment that the artist has clearly been engrossed by, and he really succeeds in capturing the wonder that clearly held his attention. Dunlop has strong ideas and is bold about following his instincts into new territory.” – Andrew Harper

“Grand weeping cherries line the Meander River in Deloraine, donated by Japan Flour Mills. It is a tree with a profound history in Japanese culture. Their manicured scaffolding of branches offers an architecture to hang paint on as Fairweather might have with a figure, allowing for an ambiguous depth of field and shifting light. In Japan, cherry blossoms are commonly conceived as the equivalent of clouds, because of their propensity to bloom en masse, and are a persistent metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, the transience of all things, and a celebration of exquisite beauty. Because of its association with mortality and graceful acceptance of destiny, the cherry blossom was used during WW2 to galvanise national pride with falling cherry petals representing sacrificed lives.” – Colville, Hobart