Artists Linda Blake, Vikki Nash and Angela Robinson explore spirituality and connection to nature in their exhibition Land, Spirit, Paper. 

Blake’s pieces are a collage of text and stamped shapes full of physical and metaphysical layering.

While she hints at ideas, she also leaves room for interpretation.

Having suffered anxiety and depression, Blake said her ability to create was vital to her mental and physical health.

“Creativity is just as important for looking after our wellbeing as eating the right food or getting exercise because it connects really closely to spirituality,” she said.

“The really lovely thing about this show is that comes through in everybody’s work. There is a real gentle and contemplative feeling.”

For Nash, forms and symbols are a big part of her work and are closely related to her spiritual and earth based practices.

“I also use a lot of lines and dots – it is kind of like a mantra, that calming, repetitive nature of making the artwork,” she said.

“For me, it is a visual manifestation of different stages of being. Like in meditation you can go to these spaces and when I’m there I can see symbols, and forms and colours and shapes, so I just put those down onto paper.”

Robinson describes her work as an exploration of connection to the natural world and her response to the elements.

Her work has evolved out of a month-long residency she completed in Barcelona last year and includes images of Spain’s Montserrat mountains and her relationship with water in Australia.

“I worked a lot with the surface layers and tried to bring about a calmness and a sensitivity to the surface in my work,” she said.

“We thought it would be a great idea to have a show because we have similar interests in our work and they seem to harmonise.”

The exhibition runs until Sunday, April 9, at Backspace Gallery’s Huyghue House.

The gallery  is open Thursday to Sunday from noon until 4pm with free admission.