The Annandale illustrator bringing the Sydney ‘fantasy’ to life
Image: Annandale artist Lew Keilar will have his work on exhibition until mid-January. Photo: Supplied.
By DANIEL LO SURDO
Lew Keilar first settled in Sydney at The Abbey, Annandale, finding work and residency as a housekeeper.
Over three decades on, the illustrator, now a bonafide Annandale local, is showcasing his version of Sydney to the buying public.
“It’s a bit of a homage and a bit of a fantasy in a way,” Keilar tells City Hub.
At Artisans’ Nest, a selection of Keilar’s work, including King Street, the Annandale Abbey and Balmain’s Dawn Fraser Baths are fronting the Newtown main street until January next year.
Looking Local
Inspiration for a local focus (Keilar says his work is usually of an “international flavour”) was sourced through the Artisans’ Nest shopowner, who after a brief conversation, suggested that “there was more scope” to the spaces that he had frequented over the past 30 years.
In discussing his work, Keilar speaks of The Abbey with particular reverence, unsurprising given his connection to the property.
“The experience of arriving in Sydney and being in such a historic home, and learning so much from the owner about Annandale and why Annandale became the way it is, I think that sense of heritage is what I’m trying to get in the building,” Keilar says.
“It’s one of the most beautiful houses in Annandale, in a commanding position looking down Johnston Street onto White Bay, and … using historical black and white photographs, and looking back at what we see with The Abbey now, and drawing it in modern-day, but with beautiful space around it so you can see it … because there are some truly ugly buildings that are very close to the Abbey.”
Overdevelopment and renewal in the Inner West have been the subject of concern for many locals worried about the changing character of their streetscapes. Recently, Keilar has led a campaign to save a neighbour’s timber house targeted for development, with the matter now before the Land and Environment Court.
“Annandale has that capability, you walk down the streets and you get that sense of the age of the community, and the heritage of the place,” Keilar says.
“The more we keep and hang on to [our heritage], the more we have chances to tell stories about them and come to know ourselves even better.”
Keilar describes his exhibition similarly to his work: minimal, engaging and a study in style and skill.
“This is really my first exhibition and I’m really happy to have people see my work and enjoy it.
“I never felt like I’ve been in such a situation for an artist to show work, it’s the type of style that suits me.”
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