Former horticulturist turned photographer Robyn Barron is celebrating a major artistic milestone this week, with her debut solo exhibition launching at the Northern Rivers Community Gallery (NRCG) in Ballina.
Titled Leaf and Flower, the exhibition showcases a series of still photographs featuring foliage and blooms grown in Robyn’s Alstonville garden, as well as natural treasures collected during walks along the beaches of East Ballina.
“It’s a bit of a pinch-me moment,” Robyn said at the gallery launch on Thursday night. “Today I was like a cat on a hot tin roof – so excited, but also nervous. This is my very first exhibition, and to be showing my work in our local gallery is just amazing.”
The exhibition is one of four new artist presentations officially opened by the Ballina Shire Mayor and on display until June 22.
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But it’s not just a big weekend locally – Robyn is also a finalist in the prestigious Galah Magazine Regional Art Prize, with one of her beach-themed works, Beachstone, currently on display at the New England Regional Art Museum in Armidale. Out of more than 1,100 entries, just 37 were selected for the final exhibition.
“It’s incredible,” she said, “To be shortlisted among so many entries is just thrilling.”
Robyn’s journey into photography is as organic as her subject matter. After 25 years designing gardens and working in the nursery industry, she began experimenting with still photography eight years ago – encouraged, in part, by her husband Charles, a retired advertising photographer.
“I actually started doing it to inspire him to pick up his camera again,” she said with a smile. “But instead, he became my art director, my stylist, my mentor. It’s really become a team effort.”
Nature, she says, has always been central to her life.
“Nature is my dream,” she explained. “A lot of my work comes from right outside my door. Poppies, magnolias, and especially native flowers – they’re all from my garden or collected from the beach. We often walk at Sharpes Beach and Flat Rock.”
A long-time Alstonville resident, Robyn says her love of the Northern Rivers region made it the perfect place to put down roots after years in Brisbane’s advertising world.
“We were tired of the city, and this place was just perfect – great for gardening, quiet, and full of beauty. You can put a stick in the ground here and it’ll grow!”
As for her own garden?
“It’s mostly flowers – lots of roses and magnolias. There are a few fruit trees too. It’s a small block, but it’s full of life.”
Visitors can view Leaf and Flower and other exhibitions at NRCG until June 22. The gallery is open Wednesday to Friday from 9am to 3pm, and Saturday to Sunday from 9:30am to 1pm.
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