Our philosophy is very simple. The Light Factory Gallery is passionate about art and is committed to bringing the kindred spirits of art lovers and artists together for the mutual benefit of both. We are dedicated to affordable, accessible art and aspire that one day, all households and commercial venues will have original works on their walls –and not an imported mass produced print to be seen. This will truly nurture our artists, our society and reflect our cultural values of art appreciation.
A short history of art in Eltham
Melbourne is a widely spread out city that encompasses a broad range of geographical and demographical variations but travel to the far north east corner and you know that you have arrived somewhere that is tangibly different. This is Eltham.
To enter Eltham fromMelbourne, you cross theYarraRiver, then Diamond Creek and suddenly you are ‘somewhere else’. To the west, lush river flats stretch out and on the east side, a forest of stringybark tumbles down to meet the road. Most locals drive this road far too often to realise just how special and unique this green entrance into Eltham is. Century old manna gums with their layers of peeling bark soar upwards as they have always done. The creek that has been meandering through this valley on its way to the Yarra continues, oblivious to any human activities. A hundred years ago, the area was frequented by picnic parties and artists, people drawn to the natural beauty of the environment. Now we speed by in fast vehicles with little time to give more than a glance at the view, but still this landscape remains with a dignity and a serenity.
In Eltham the easily accessed bushland is taken for granted. School students walk leafy pathways along the creek, crossing bridges, noting the natural changes – swollen waterways that can later be reduced to trickles. Walking under the majestic red river gums, they could be walking in a landscape from two hundred years ago.
Continue further along Main Road and you enter an avenue of plane trees, evidence of an earlier time when a tree was planted for each local boy who was lost in the First World War. This fact may be forgotten now but the deciduous plane trees with their spring green growth changing to the brilliant hues of autumnal gold, continue to remind us how nature’s seasons will continue regardless of world wars, floods, drought or bushfire. This is the threshold we cross every day to enter Eltham.
Free thinkers like architectAlistairKnoxand landscape designerGordonFord, who both made their homes in Eltham in the 1950s influenced generations of people to see their house and land as integral to each other. They practiced this concept of living within the landscape and built their homes from the earth’s natural materials like timber, mud and corrugated iron. Instead of tearing down the bush, they built amongst it, using local and recycled materials and maintaining the environment that had attracted them. This was in stark contrast to what was happening in post warMelbournesuburbia where brick, veneer, laminate benches and manicured lawns were the ideal. Sustainability, recycling and native gardens were concepts they pioneered.
The march of time has of course altered elements of the Eltham landscape. Many of the roads have now been sealed with even some traffic lights finding their way onto the streets but pockets of the natural landscape are retained in small and large patches throughout the region and the spirit of creativity continues to glimmer.