Tara Johns — Under a Strange Sun

With the vast Australian Landscape as her inspiration, Tara Johns invites viewers into a world where the ancient and surreal meet. Her work blends familiar landscapes with mystery, creating images that evoke timeless stories. Through photographs and paintings, Johns uses light, colour, and texture to craft illusions of depth, shifting perspectives, and moments of reflection.

In her paintings, layers of paint, clay, ochre, and earth form organic shapes that seem to emerge from the surface. These forms hover between the real and the unknown, while sparks of deep blues, reds, and oranges bring life and movement to the works. The textured surfaces ground the work, while shifts in light and perspective immerse the senses and alter perception.

Johns’ photographs extend this exploration by transforming bush landscapes into playful, dreamlike narratives. Scenes are composed with a painter’s eye for light and shadow, inviting the viewer to see the world with fresh wonder.

Both mediums explore the tension between the whimsical and the profound, bridging fleeting moments of wonder with the enduring presence of nature. This body of work is grounded in Johns' personal journey of sensory transformation—a path shaped by adapting to a new way of experiencing the world. Through her art, she reveals hidden layers of perception and invites others to reflect on their own sensory boundaries.

Under a Strange Sun is a journey through shifting realities—a celebration of resilience, light, and the power of art to reshape the way we see.