Published on Thursday, 29 January 2026 at 3:31:56 PM
The City of Albany has opened its 2026 exhibition program at the Albany Town Hall with The Mirror, a new exhibition by Melbourne-based artist Jarrad Martyn.
Running until February 14, The Mirror presents a series of new paintings that explore how visual meaning shifts as images move across time, technology and cultural memory.
The exhibition reinterprets archival photographs connected to Albany’s whaling past, reflecting on how their meanings continue to evolve within contemporary ecological and ethical awareness.
Martyn’s work considers photographs, archives and museum displays not as fixed historical records, but as materials that change in meaning depending on when and how they are viewed.
Drawing on motifs from museum interiors, taxidermy displays and idealised landscapes, the exhibition reflects on the role institutions play in shaping understanding of the natural world, while highlighting the tension between preservation and loss.
The paintings are developed through a layered process that moves between drawing, painting and digital collage. Gestural marks and textures are photographed, digitally altered and reintroduced into the works, creating surfaces that shift between representation and abstraction. These layered compositions place past, present and imagined futures into conversation, encouraging viewers to consider how historical images continue to circulate and transform over time.
Manager Arts & Culture Paul Nielsen said The Mirror invites thoughtful engagement with Albany’s layered histories.
“At its core, The Mirror is about reflection,” Mr Nielsen said.
“The exhibition encourages visitors to look beyond the surface of the works and consider their own place within broader environmental and cultural stories.
“It asks people to pause and think about how meaning shifts over time, and where we exist within a history that continues to evolve.”
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