The Condensery Somerset Regional Art Gallery

13/10/2026

Dean Ansell’s new work brings meteorological data, ancestral stories and lived experience into dialogue.

Satellite imagery is etched into translucent acrylic panels that rotate above earth, transforming a storm into a shifting landscape of light and movement. Layered field recordings from Papua Niugini, alongside Ansell’s breath and mourning howls, give the work a bodily presence - a call across geographical and generational distance.

The work considers how knowledge changes as it travels. Rather than treating the landscape as something fixed to be preserved, the work understands it as continually moving through weather, memory, technology and the body.

Curious? Visit The Condensery and experience Dean Ansell’s new exhibition ‘The Earth is Always Wet, The Ground is Always Moving’

Open Wed – Sun, 10AM - 4PM

Image 1: Jim Filmer
Image 2: Naomi McKenzie

12/10/2026

🎨 A creative day at The Condensery!

We loved welcoming a local school vacation care group to The Condensery to experience 'Pulse of Place'.

The group explored the exhibition and then created drawings using river pigment provided by artist Kuweni Dias Mendis. It was wonderful to see their curiosity and enthusiasm as they engaged with the exhibition and art making process. 😊

Looking for something free, creative and fun to do with your family this weekend ?
Drop into The Condensery and create your own river drawing in The Creation Station! ✨

We look forward to welcoming you ! 💚

Open Wed – Sun, 10AM - 4PM

Images 1-3: Naomi McKenzie
Image 4: Phil Lister

10/10/2026

Drop into The Condensery anytime on Saturday 17 October (10am – 4pm) to witness artist Kuweni Dias Mendis activate her exhibition through a special performance.

Beginning at 10am, Kuweni will initiate the performance with a cleansing ritual using incense, kumkum and mantra, surrounded by pahan (oil lamps), flowers and bulath (betel leaves).

Throughout the day, Kuweni will create a new large-scale drawing through repetition, movement and gesture, culminating in a Vashi yantra (sacred diagram). The completed work will remain in the gallery as a trace of the ritual and its relationship to body and place.

The performance is free, and visitors are welcome to stay for as long as they like.

Explore the exhibitions and create your own pigment drawing at The Condensery’s Creation Station.

Find out more via The Condensery’s website www.thecondensery.com.au

07/10/2026

Pulse of Place by Kuweni Dias Mendis extends into the Bomb Shelter through film and ritual mark-making. Within the confined space, the artist has created another enclosed space: a timber partition surrounds the projected film, visible only through a series of peep holes cut into the wood. Through ritual performance, the partition has been marked with turmeric and yellow earth pigment.

The barrier and obstructed viewpoints evoke the shielded and hidden nature of women’s ancestral knowledge, requiring the viewer to actively seek it out. The work ritualises looking; by concealing and partially revealing the moving image, the installation slows perception and resists immediate consumption, requiring curiosity and attentiveness.

Curious ?

Visit The Condensery and experience this incredible exhibition !

Open Wed – Sun, 10AM - 4PM

Image credit: Naomi McKenzie

06/10/2026

The Earth is Always Wet, The Ground is Always Moving brings together satellite imagery, ancestral knowledge, meteorology and sound to explore how relationships to land can travel across distance and generations.

At the centre of the exhibition, In Search of Howling Winds follows Tropical Cyclone Guba as it moved through Southeastern Papua Niugini in 2007, across the region surrounding artist Dean Ansell’s family’s traditional lands in Rigo.

Working with his Aunty Gemona, Ansell mapped their Country not through fixed coordinates, but through remembered landmarks, waterways, mountains and neighbouring territories. Within this living map, satellite imagery of Cyclone Guba meets the story of Avala - a powerful south-easterly wind, which was passed down to Ansell through his great-grandfather.

Curious? Visit The Condensery and experience this immersive installation !

Open Wed – Sun, 10AM - 4PM

Image credit: Naomi McKenzie

02/10/2026

'Pulse of Place' is the culmination of 12 months of research, community engagement and residencies undertaken by Kuweni Dias Mendis across her ancestral village in Sri Lanka and here in Toogoolawah.

Moving between places, generations and forms of knowledge, Mendis draws on stories, rituals and sensory practices connected to Sri Lankan women, home and community.

The resulting installation brings together ritual, scent, food, ancestry and the body - creating a space to consider how cultural knowledge is carried, shared and kept alive.

'Pulse of Place' is now on view across The Condensery’s Main Gallery and historic Bomb Shelter

Curious?
Visit anytime during our opening hours
10AM- 4PM, Wed - Sun.

Image by Phil Lister

The Condensery is a producer and presenter of contemporary art exhibitions, programs and activities

01/10/2026

Join us at The Condensery Social this Saturday (12-3PM) to learn the fundamentals of charcoal portraiture!

In this free, relaxed and fun session Dr Sandi Hook will introduce the fundamentals of portrait drawing. With a focus on observation, proportion and creating depth through light and shade, participants will have the opportunity to experiment and develop their confidence in capturing the character and form of the face.

Suitable for beginners as well as more experienced participants looking to develop or refresh their portraiture skills.

Book your spot here ! https://thecondensery.com.au/the-condensery-social-introduction-to-charcoal-portraits/

The Condensery Social is a free, fortnightly social and creative gathering - all are welcome, find out more via The Condensery's webpage !

IMAGE: NAOMI MCKENZIE

30/09/2026

What an incredible weekend at The Condensery !💥

On Saturday, The Condensery was thrilled to open two new exhibitions: ‘Pulse of Place’ by Kuweni Dias Mendis and ‘The Earth is Always Wet, The Ground is Always Moving’ by Dean Ansell.

Thank you to all that joined us 💫
we had a great time celebrating the new exhibitions and hearing the artists speak about their immersive and ambitious new works.

Our new exhibitions are now open until 29 November 2026.

There's plenty of time to visit and discover these remarkable exhibitions!

📍 Open Wednesday–Sunday, 10am - 4pm.
📸 Photos by Jim Filmer

21/09/2026

Join artists Kuweni Dias Mendis and Dean Ansell this Saturday, 2–4PM, as they come together to discuss their new exhibitions at The Condensery🍃

Commissioned for The Condensery, both artists have created immersive, multi-sensory exhibitions that draw on ancestral knowledge, embodied practice, and lived experience.

Come along to hear directly from the artists, explore the exhibitions, and celebrate their work with us.

Saturday | 2–4PM
Free event | Light refreshments provided

We’d love to see you there! 🌞

Kuweni Dias Mendis: Pulse of place

Dean Ansell: The Earth is Always Wet, The Ground is Always Moving.

IMAGE 1: KUWENI DIAS MENDIS, PULSE OF PLACE (DETAIL), 2026, STILL FROM DIGITAL VIDEO.

IMAGE 2: DEAN ANSELL, ḠATU ḠATU, LIVE PERFORMANCE AT INSTITUTE OF MODERN ART, 2026. PHOTO BY KATY BELFORD.