Renowned Margaret River artist Fi Wilkie is set to showcase her latest exhibition, ‘Wander out Yonder’, at the Cannery Arts Centre, Esperance. Opening on Thursday, 13 February 2025, and running until Sunday, 30 March 2025, the exhibition invites audiences to explore the vibrant interplay between nature, community, and storytelling through Fi’s distinctive painterly style from her travels throughout WA.
Her love of the landscape, country living and the natural world inspire her work. Surrounded by the native flora and fauna in Margaret River, Western Australia, Artist Fi Wilkie is drawn to observe the delicate change of seasons, the contrast of chaos and order in the bush landscape and the stories of connection that exists within it.
In 2023 Fi visited the Cannery Arts Centre for a residency, hosting a collage workshop and exploring our natural environment for her Wander Out Yonder exhibition creating ‘Drinking in the Sunshine-Banksia speciosa’ a painted paper collage of our New Holland Honey Eaters in a frenzy of delight in a forest of Banksia speciosa (Showy Banksia) “When we visited Esperance in the late Summer - we walked and walked through an amazing jungle path lined on both sides with 4 metre high flowering Banksia speciosa-I’ll never forget it!” This is one of a series of artworks created for her Wander Out Yonder series. Her other Esperance inspired work is Rock Hop and Bloom at Lucky Bay, showcasing pig face, rock parrots and beach loving kangaroos, "if you visit Lucky Bay in the Cape Le Grand National Park just East of Esperance you might be lucky to see these lazy macropods lounging on the impossibly white and squeaky sand. Blue water is not a good description - the colour of the water in this part of the world is hard to describe...as is the landscape, the flora and the great people who live there."
Fi’s travels took her to Purnululu and Karijini in the north, to the dryland woodlands near Narrogin, and the southern shores of Flinders Bay in Augusta, as well as other places. Fi’s art captures the quiet beauty and dynamic energy of her surroundings, reflecting over 30 years of living in and drawing inspiration from the region. A multi-disciplinary artist, she approaches her work with depth and patience, often developing themes over many years to create layered and meaningful narratives. As a passionate advocate for regional voices, endangered landscapes, and the creative arts, Fi’s Wander out Yonder promises to be both a visual delight and a heartfelt exploration of connection and mindfulness. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the world through Fi’s eyes.
Fi works as a full-time artist and creates and teaches workshops in drawing, painting and collage. She is offering workshops to the community: Birdlife Collage for Under 16’s, Banksia and Bird and Sculpture Building with Paper.
Information on workshops https://www.canneryartscentre.com.au/workshops
Exhibition Information https://www.canneryartscentre.com.au/exhibitions
