Fred Fowler’s latest exhibition, The Island, recalls fond memories of time spent on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), including proposing to his wife, family holidays, swimming in the ocean and looking at the stars.

‘It’s literally my happy place,’ he says. ‘There’s something truly magical about it, you can only access the island by boat and it always feels like you leave your worries on the mainland.’

He’s translated his memories; the sunsets and the sunrises; the storms; and even the smell of the air, into a series of 12 paintings for his exhibition at Jan Murphy Gallery in Brisbane.

‘All-in-all this show has taken a solid 12 months to complete,’ he explains. ‘However, some of these paintings have been in the studio in various states for two to three years and have several layers hidden underneath the surface.’

In fact, these layers — reminiscent of an architectural dig — are some of Fred’s favourite elements of the works.

‘It’s rumoured that there are ruins of a Spanish Galleon in 18 Mile Swamp on Minjerribah and I wanted to include a reference to some of that history.’

Fred’s paintings carry his signature style and are awash with colour, texture and symbology.

‘I hope these paintings can function as portals or windows into a place that is familiar, but one you can’t quite put your finger on,’ he says. ‘When I look at them they spark memories and emotions. Hopefully, they can do something similar for people too.’

‘The Island’ is on from August 27 – September 14 at Jan Murphy Gallery. See the catalogue here.