Artist Profile: Angus Hamra

“I am an architecture student so it’s a merging of the disciplines I have learnt through design,” Hamra says. “It’s looking at the design element and how it simplifies our experience with the landscape.” Hamra is particularly inspired by the areas around Adelaide such as the Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills and Willunga – where he spends a lot of his time. “It’s really looking at the gems of Adelaide which are in the rural areas surrounding it. These areas are so accessible, too.” Music has always been a big part of Hamra’s life and this is reflected in this series. The paintings started as sketches on record labels, which he has then transferred to larger canvases, keeping the round shape of the record in the paintings. A selection of the record sketches also features in the exhibition.

Angus Hamra, ‘Dark Palm’

As well as being inspired by his love of music, Hamra is a big fan of the Australian impressionists, and sketching on the records harks back to the 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition in 1889 where many of the works were painted on cigar boxes. Close up, the paintings look like abstract circles, you really have to stand back to grasp the image. “It is that kind of relationship I like, the crisp circles and the abstract texture inside. I have really been pushing that and on different scales – smaller canvases and larger ones.” The title of the exhibition, Tunnel Vision, is inspired by the idea of cropping the images in a circle. It also reflects the notion of cherrypicking the best bits and framing the view to get the perfect image. This manipulation of images is reminiscent of posts on social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook where you often don’t get a true sense of place. Hamra’s paintings are a merging of art and architecture, two disciplines related to one another, but not always so intimately linked. Angus Hamra Tunnel Vision Peter Walker Fine Art Thursday, May 5 to Saturday, May 21 angushamra.com Header image: Angus Hamra, ‘Frozen Music Series’