The Garden of Life

Late in 2023, Melbourne artist Janice Gobey travelled through France, Spain and Portugal. During her journey, Gobey was granted the opportunity to paint en plein air in the historic gardens of the Alhambra in Granada and Alcázar in Seville. It was here that the concept for her forthcoming exhibition, The Garden of Life, began to take shape. This new body of work offers viewers a moment of respite – an invitation to rest weary souls and reconnect with nature, the subconscious, and the unseen corners of the psyche.

Working primarily in oil, Gobey has conjured an ‘other world’ populated by archetypal figures: cats, horses and anthropomorphic beings set against dreamlike, sometimes imagined, sometimes real landscapes. Many of the works feature silver-leafed edges, evoking the kind of quiet opulence found in Southern Europe’s ancient palaces and sanctuaries.

The Garden of Life is a visual invitation to pause, reflect and step beyond the conscious world into places ancient and eternal.