The exhibition has evolved out of John's long held fascination with the minutiae as well as the larger history and evolution of our continent, particularly the margin where the Australian bio-geographical region meets the Asian region. The exhibition investigates how the landmasses of this area have moved towards each other and dramatically collided in recent geological time along what is known as 'the Wallace Line'.

Exhibition Dates: 6 September – 29 September 2001

John Wolseley, one of Australia's best-known painters has spent the last four years travelling between Australia and the archipelagos of Indonesia and Malaysia to the North.

The exhibition at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery has evolved out of John's long held fascination with the minutiae as well as the larger history and evolution of our continent, particularly the margin where the Australian bio-geographical region meets the Asian region.

The exhibition investigates how the landmasses of this area have moved towards each other and dramatically collided in recent geological time along what is known as 'the Wallace Line'. This line was named after Alfred Russel Wallace, one of the 19th century founders of biogeography, who was obsessed with why there was a dramatic division between the two different faunas and floras which seem to run in a line between Bali and Lombok in the south, threading its way north between Borneo and Sulawesi.

At this mysterious line of demarcation—the Wallace Line—where cultural, botanical and animal worlds come together, there are fascinating juxtapositions, and subtle transformations as one landscape, plant or animal type give way to an adjacent strange and unfamiliar one. These are the kinds of zones of transformation, where one system meets another, which has so often been the subject of John's work.

In the gallery, you enter into a three dimensional diagram of the collision, faulting and drifting of the Laurasian and Australo/papuan tetonic plates. The gallery space is defined by huge geological wall drawings on which are set exquisite and intimate watercolours of the diverse life forms which have evolved on these moving continents and archipelagos.

A three dimensional dotted line on the gallery floor represents the Wallace Line. The exhibition features for example comparisons of leaf forms from each side of the Wallace line and bird plumage from Java juxtaposed with specimens from West Papua. Also included are Tapirs, cloud forest mosses and a series of beautiful cabinets devoted to extinct species. These combine to make the exhibition a rich mediation about the earth and our place on it.

As John Wolseley says "I am trying to give form to my obsession and fascination with the way every living species is part of the huge dynamic movement of the earth and its evolution. If one looks at the frond of a fern say, in its design and structure, there lies the history of the Earth."

A 60-page catalogue accompanies the exhibition,Tracing the Wallace Line, with an essay by Paul Carter, and journal extracts by John Wolseley.

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John Wolseley Javan leaf and Tiwi leaf, continental drift, 2001; watercolour on paper; 56 x 199 cm; enquire
Javan leaf and Tiwi leaf, continental drift, 2001
watercolour on paper
56 x 199 cm
John Wolseley Rain forest canopy, olive backed oriole, 1999-00; watercolour on paper; 66 x 271 cm; enquire
Rain forest canopy, olive backed oriole, 1999-00
watercolour on paper
66 x 271 cm
John Wolseley Green Mountain, leaf, lacewing (panel 1), 2000; graphite & watercolour on paper; two panels: 56 x 111cm; 56 x 41cm; enquire
Green Mountain, leaf, lacewing (panel 1), 2000
graphite & watercolour on paper
two panels: 56 x 111cm; 56 x 41cm
John Wolseley Green Mountain, leaf, lacewing (panel 2), 2000; graphite & watercolour on paper; two panels: 56 x 111cm; 56 x 41cm; enquire
Green Mountain, leaf, lacewing (panel 2), 2000
graphite & watercolour on paper
two panels: 56 x 111cm; 56 x 41cm
John Wolseley The territories of birds remembering Gondwana and Laurasia, 2001; watercolour on paper; 76 x 263 cm; enquire
The territories of birds remembering Gondwana and Laurasia, 2001
watercolour on paper
76 x 263 cm
John Wolseley Tracing the Wallace Line; wing leaf and land, 1999; watercolour on paper; 136 x 205 cm; enquire
Tracing the Wallace Line; wing leaf and land, 1999
watercolour on paper
136 x 205 cm
John Wolseley Jungle tree, Parkia Javanica, Taman Negara, 2000; watercolour on paper; 57 x 152 cm; enquire
Jungle tree, Parkia Javanica, Taman Negara, 2000
watercolour on paper
57 x 152 cm
John Wolseley Lichens and liverworts on a leaf, Mt Kinabalu, 2001; watercolour on paper; 57 x 76 cm; enquire
Lichens and liverworts on a leaf, Mt Kinabalu, 2001
watercolour on paper
57 x 76 cm
John Wolseley Tracing the Wallace Line; descent of dipterocarp, 1999; watercolour on paper; 56 x 190 cm; enquire
Tracing the Wallace Line; descent of dipterocarp, 1999
watercolour on paper
56 x 190 cm
John Wolseley The architecture of leaves in Java and Malaysia, 2000; watercolour on paper; 75 x 260.5 cm; enquire
The architecture of leaves in Java and Malaysia, 2000
watercolour on paper
75 x 260.5 cm
John Wolseley Macaranga drift, 2001; watercolour on paper; 76.5 x 114 cm; enquire
Macaranga drift, 2001
watercolour on paper
76.5 x 114 cm
John Wolseley Olive-backed oriole with papaya, 1999; watercolour on paper; 26 x 33 cm; enquire
Olive-backed oriole with papaya, 1999
watercolour on paper
26 x 33 cm
John Wolseley Reliquary Cabinet for a disappearing species Eastern Quoll, 2001; wooden cabinet (made by Linda Fredheim, Furniture Design, Hobart); enquire
Reliquary Cabinet for a disappearing species Eastern Quoll, 2001
wooden cabinet (made by Linda Fredheim, Furniture Design, Hobart)
John Wolseley Reliquary Cabinet for a disappearing species Alsomitra vine, 2001; wooden cabinet (made by Linda Fredheim, Furniture Design, Hobart); enquire
Reliquary Cabinet for a disappearing species Alsomitra vine, 2001
wooden cabinet (made by Linda Fredheim, Furniture Design, Hobart)
John Wolseley Herbarium for The end of the Millennium Waratah Proteacae, 1996; cabinet in different Australian woods (made by Linda Fredheim, Furniture Design, Hobart) enclosing drawings, watercolours on paper; enquire
Herbarium for The end of the Millennium Waratah Proteacae, 1996
cabinet in different Australian woods (made by Linda Fredheim, Furniture Design, Hobart) enclosing drawings, watercolours on paper
John Wolseley Herbarium for the end of the Millennium Myrtyle Beech Nothotagus, 1996; cabinet in different Australian woods (made by Linda Fredheim, Furniture Design, Hobart) enclosing drawings and watercolours on paper; enquire
Herbarium for the end of the Millennium Myrtyle Beech Nothotagus, 1996
cabinet in different Australian woods (made by Linda Fredheim, Furniture Design, Hobart) enclosing drawings and watercolours on paper
John Wolseley Bird of paradise- vulcanism, 2000; watercolour on paper; 35 x 20 cm; enquire
Bird of paradise- vulcanism, 2000
watercolour on paper
35 x 20 cm
John Wolseley Bird of paradise- forest canopy, 2000; watercolour on paper; 34 x 20.5 cm; enquire
Bird of paradise- forest canopy, 2000
watercolour on paper
34 x 20.5 cm
John Wolseley A history of ferns with hoopoe and hooded pitohui, 2000; watercolour on paper; 46 x 147 cm; enquire
A history of ferns with hoopoe and hooded pitohui, 2000
watercolour on paper
46 x 147 cm
John Wolseley Tapir, Taman Negara, 2000; watercolour on paper; 23 x 76 cm; enquire
Tapir, Taman Negara, 2000
watercolour on paper
23 x 76 cm
John Wolseley Bower bird, the space between trees, 1999; graphite of paper; 56 x 152 cm; enquire
Bower bird, the space between trees, 1999
graphite of paper
56 x 152 cm
John Wolseley Nepenthes Rajah, 2001; watercolour on paper; 76.5 x 57 cm; enquire
Nepenthes Rajah, 2001
watercolour on paper
76.5 x 57 cm
John Wolseley Where Tembeling and Tahan rivers meet, 2000; watercolour on paper; 57 x 76 cm; enquire
Where Tembeling and Tahan rivers meet, 2000
watercolour on paper
57 x 76 cm
John Wolseley River Tembeling drawing, 2000; Ink on paper; 57 x 76 cm; enquire
River Tembeling drawing, 2000
Ink on paper
57 x 76 cm
John Wolseley Logged jungle Sabah, 2001; graphite on invoice slips; 73 x 133 cm; enquire
Logged jungle Sabah, 2001
graphite on invoice slips
73 x 133 cm
John Wolseley Pitcher plants, Mt Kinabalu, 2001; graphite on paper; 16 x 75.5 cm; enquire
Pitcher plants, Mt Kinabalu, 2001
graphite on paper
16 x 75.5 cm
John Wolseley The Great Tectonic Arc: concerning the collision of the Laurasian and Gondwana Metacontinents and the idea of the Wallace Line, 1995-01; arc in watercolour and pencil drawings on paper, plant specimens; variable; enquire
The Great Tectonic Arc: concerning the collision of the Laurasian and Gondwana Metacontinents and the idea of the Wallace Line, 1995-01
arc in watercolour and pencil drawings on paper, plant specimens
variable
John Wolseley Elia Brown, Tasmania, 1996-00; watercolour on paper; 39 x 60 cm; enquire
Elia Brown, Tasmania, 1996-00
watercolour on paper
39 x 60 cm
John Wolseley Two satin bower birds, 2000; pencil on paper; 28 x 31 cm; enquire
Two satin bower birds, 2000
pencil on paper
28 x 31 cm
John Wolseley Barbet and small National Park, 1999; watercolour on paper; 36 x 27 cm; enquire
Barbet and small National Park, 1999
watercolour on paper
36 x 27 cm
John Wolseley Black-naped orioles, 1998; watercolour on paper; 17.5 x 20 cm; enquire
Black-naped orioles, 1998
watercolour on paper
17.5 x 20 cm
John Wolseley White beefwood with lacewings, 1998; speciman, photocopy, overlays; 38 x 29.5 cm; enquire
White beefwood with lacewings, 1998
speciman, photocopy, overlays
38 x 29.5 cm
John Wolseley Plate tectonics- Sulawesi, 1998; watercolour on paper; 15.7 x 23 cm; enquire
Plate tectonics- Sulawesi, 1998
watercolour on paper
15.7 x 23 cm
John Wolseley Migration to Mongolia- the black-tailed godwit, 2000; watercolour on paper; 56 x 23 cm; enquire
Migration to Mongolia- the black-tailed godwit, 2000
watercolour on paper
56 x 23 cm
John Wolseley Dipterocarp germination, 1998; watercolour on paper; 56.7 x 23.5 cm; enquire
Dipterocarp germination, 1998
watercolour on paper
56.7 x 23.5 cm
John Wolseley Leaf Island Indonesian Archipelago, 2001; watercolour and pencil on paper; 25 x 30 cm; enquire
Leaf Island Indonesian Archipelago, 2001
watercolour and pencil on paper
25 x 30 cm