A new exhibition celebrating the biodiversity of the Gippsland bush is currently on display at the Red Tree Gallery in Jindivick.
Created by Drouin-based printmaker Helen Timbury, "Travelling Through" is an exhibition of linocut prints, mono prints and some of Helen's recent paintings, with a central focus on celebrating the Gippsland bush and biodiversity.
"It's a bit broader than I usually exhibit, but I've been doing all of these things and getting inspiration from the local Gippsland Bush," Helen said.
"The lino cuts, the monoprints and even the paintings, they're celebrating Gippsland's special biodiversity."
Helen said it was important to capture the beauty of the natural environment before it was under threat.
"It's really important for me to show this to people because living in Drouin, we're at the edge of the peri-urban fringe and this biodiversity is under threat from things like housing development, feral pests and weeds bushfire," she said.
"I just feel like it's something that we need to appreciate while it's still there and I want to draw attention to our Gippsland biodiversity."
Helen said the aim of the exhibition is for people to immerse themselves in the environment captured in the artwork.
"I'm inviting people to come and look at the work and to take solace in the canopies that I've reproduced in the imagery and the plants," Helen said. "It's sort of about mentally sheltering yourself in the beautiful bush."
The name "Travelling Through" came from the main piece of artwork in the exhibition.
"It's a lino print with a person travelling on a track through the middle of the bush and there's overhanging canopy and there's birds watching from the side and there's moths floating by, it's clear that they're transient, they're there for a little while, they're just enjoying the peace and the beauty of the forest, they're only travelling through," she explained.
Visitors will be able to expect lots of colour and variety from the exhibition.
"I still have the strong, austere lino cut prints, then there are these softer mono prints that try to bring in all the feels, smells and sounds of the bush," Helen said. "It's an actual spectrum of what you might experience outside in Gippsland in bush areas."
"Travelling Through" will be on display at the Red Tree Gallery in Jindivick until Wednesday May 28. The gallery is open daily between 10am and 4pm.