Manly Beach, Summer is Here 1913

Curator: Ethel Carrick’s "Manly Beach, Summer is Here", painted in 1913, offers a glimpse into a bustling beach scene rendered in oil. What strikes you first about it? Editor: Overwhelming joy! It feels like an explosion of sunshine, but look closer, and the crowd becomes a sea of segregation. White people prominently displayed, mostly separated by gender. What does "summer" mean here, and for whom? Curator: Intriguing point. Visually, Carrick’s use of Impressionistic brushstrokes creates a sense of movement and energy. Note the layering of colours – how the ochre sands melt into turquoise and cerulean waters. Compositionally, this captures the fluidity of light on a summer’s day. Editor: Absolutely, there is talent, but it cannot be separated from the composition. While I admire the formal handling of light, I also can’t ignore how the privilege of leisure is broadcast so loudly in this piece. I want to understand what these people think. How does this beach function under colonial power? Curator: It presents a unique dialogue between Post-Impressionist techniques, that favour depicting sensation as opposed to clear definition. The brushwork doesn't focus on detailing any particular identity but rather shows collective activity. Is it perhaps reflecting a broader societal shift toward leisure and outdoor recreation in early 20th century Australia? Editor: Maybe for the colonizers. These carefree moments come at a cost – a legacy of occupation, Indigenous dispossession. Are there any indigenous bodies in the crowd? It seems to reflect the societal norms of her time. Did she engage with it? Curator: That reading certainly provides a valuable contemporary lens. What is represented may tell an entirely different story if we are to read critically through today's more equitable standards. Carrick gives the viewer space for their own meaning within the texture of the paint and light. Editor: The colour creates mood – even with its dazzling use of sunlight, to fully connect, we must look beyond the visual artistry into social context and understand not just what is painted, but whose story is being prioritized here.