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Twentysix Gallery is pleased to present ‘The Foragers’, a solo exhibition featuring new works by Emma Hercus.Growing up we used to hunt and gather. Rabbits, goats, eels, trout, deer - blackberries, walnuts, macadamias, plums and roadside apples. Dad would make my brother and I rabbit stew and blackberry milkshakes, while our neighbour Mike would smoke the eels till they were buttery and tasted of the earth. The land gives with an outstretched hand and Emma Hercus composes from within it. Both bush and coastlines, fields and roadside corners unfold in ‘The Foragers’.
Painting in oil and true to form, Hercus’ portraits are wide-eyed and poignant. Rosy cheeks with head scarfs and fur vests, a striped shirt paired with a tight lipped smirk. Once, when young and curious, we foraged for blue mushrooms - found on the tree line of native bush - we made a bitter tasting tea. It was a strange and vivid afternoon. I painted a lot. This series dipping into rich colour - her skies are energetic, the ocean layered and deep. Foliage is defined and vivacious, sharp and encompassing for all its inhabitants inside. For Hercus, the landscape and its fauna are at her core.
Before the walnuts were about to fall, my mother would thump the giant trees with a chain - beat them into shape to bear more fruit. It is a life sustained by the earth, a bloodline of foragers and a childhood of lessons in how to continue to do so. These days we live by the sea, white baiting season bringing the people of the coast together in the same spot every year. Sustenance from the hunt - sustenance from the community that gathers around the table to share foraged, grown, caught and collected kai. The gratification in sharing both a meal and a memory.
The exhibition runs from 27 February – 21 March 2026, with an opening celebration on Thursday, 26 February at 6pm.
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