Mossenson Art Foundation (‘MAF’) was incorporated in 2010. One of MAF’s objectives is to sponsor and encourage artists by means of art prizes and exhibitions. Mossenson Galleries has been exhibiting art produced by Australian artists since 1993.

To mark the gallery’s milestone of 27 years of operation and acknowledge the current challenging environment for Western Australian visual artists, Mossenson Galleries and MAF have contributed resources to present SIX : 2020.

SIX : 2020 aims to support Western Australian artists by providing exposure, backing and a venue to showcase quality artworks whilst at the same time making a meaningful contribution to the local art community.

Six artists who reside in Western Australia were selected from a large number of entries by the judging panel which consisted of:

Lancelot Hyde _ Curator of the Royal Perth Hospital Art Collection

Connie Petrillo _ Curator of the St John of God Health Care Art Collection

and a representative from the Mossenson Art Foundation.

 Mossenson Art Foundation granted each of the successful artists $1,000.00 towards materials for the new artworks. The artists receive all of the exhibition sales proceeds without the gallery taking any commission.

 No restrictions were placed on colour or material selection for this project and there is no particular theme for the exhibition. Artists were invited to develop their own proposals based on their interests and philosophical approach to their own art practices.

The six successful artists chosen for Six : 2020  from a competitive field present a diverse group ranging from emerging through mid career to senior artists.

The chosen artists’ work reflect a diverse range of themes which are particularly relevant to these unusual times.

Bella Scharfenstein’s works are derived from her emotional and intellectual responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and observation which draws inspiration from humanity's response and adaptation to the pandemic, and observation of humanity’s enduring predisposition to displacement of cause and effect onto external factors such as governments or Deities. 

Desmond Mah’s Monsters Within aims to explore the portrayal of fear, projected by pervasive cultural ideas to turn the ordinary neighbourhood into a menacing landscape. His monsters become contemporary figures of the uncanny, reflecting his pressing concerns of Asian‐Australians’ marginalisation in Australia.

George Howlett's Truisms explores his relationship with the digital world and his constant beeping Iphone. His memories are screenshots of moments he has been on his phone where imagery pops up which he can relate to. These screenshots and memos become research and subject matter for his art practice, including his paintings, lists, selfies, and useless aphorisms that answer questions that don't need to be asked.This work is personal and close to the heart.

Matthew McAlpine’s series Beneath the radiant Southern Cross, brings together four new paintings that reflect upon the toxicity of colonialism and nationalism in contemporary Australia. Insidious systems and processes that continue to whitewash history, deny Indigenous culture and rapidly degrade the environment. The series was initially developed in early 2020 during the bushfires that ravaged so much land and devastated the lives of so many people and wildlife. Simultaneously with the bushfires there was immense denial from the Federal Government that climate change and colonial systems were impacting the bushfires.

Lia McKnight’s current practice finds inspiration in the natural world to explore themes of life, death, sex and magic. Her darkly humorous drawings and sculptures are at once alluring and disarming. They appear like mental maps to a strange and erotic terrain where suppressed desires and fears emerge as eerie dreamscapes. The imagery and collected objects that inform her artworks have been found around the bushland and coastline where she regularly walks: places close to her home outside Waylyup/Fremantle. Her art practice draws inspiration from the natural world to explore themes of life, death, sex and magic.

Penny Bovell's series of paintings explore the BIophillia Effect which reinforces the innate sense of calm and wellbeing we gained from bush walking and the impelling need for the conservation of the environment. These paintings reflect on the Melaleuca Grove at Herdsman Lake  contrasting the linearity of the trunks of trees line work created by the path repair system reflected on the paths near by.

The interplay of the artists’ ideas and aesthetics combine to create a most stimulating exhibition.

The exhibition will be officially opened by the Honourable David Templeman MLA, Minister for the Arts on Wednesday 18 November 2020 from 6 pm.