DISTANT BLUES FROM A LITTLE CLOSER

Olivia Gates

24 July - 16 August 2026, Platform
Exhibition opening: Thursday 23 July 2026, 6pm

Lost really has two disparate meanings. Losing things is about the familiar falling away, getting lost is about the unfamiliar appearing…..or you get lost, in which case the world has become larger than your knowledge of it.

- Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost (2006)

Distant blues, from a little closer is Gates’ first solo exhibition. The works navigate experiences of losing, loss and being lost, while tracing moments of great love and joy that weave through them.

The exhibition brings together works developed during her residency at M16 Art Space this year, alongside a return to textiles after a decade-long focus on glass. Rather than seeking resolution, the works wander without the need for certainty. The materials hold grounding memories and hope for a once imagined life. They linger with things that feel distant. A quiet pull between leaving something unknown or letting it become familiar.

Olivia Gates is the current Artist in residence at the M16 Artspace Environmental Artist Residency program, made possible through the generous sponsorship of Canberra philanthropist Thomas Boulton. Gates's residency is further supported by Canberra Glassworks and Megalo Print Studio.