Cartoonist for The Australian newspaper Eric Lobbecke is set to wrap up his display at the Manning Regional Art Gallery, entitled Common Ground.
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Eric has spent the last two weeks hearing stories from Taree residents and creating a visual representation on the walls of the gallery, looking to find the commonalities that exist between each person.
He said the project presents an alternative meaning to that of his work for The Australian.
”The common ground I’m looking for is the common ground between people.
“What I’m doing in my daily work is all about the vision, it’s all about two polarised ideas and they never meet in between,” Eric said.
He has been amazed by the number of people who have shared their story.
“I would think about five people a day and on a good day probably fifteen people so I probably have a good twenty-five stories and fifteen more I have to draw up.
“It feels like something I can do for three or four months, it’s actually bigger than I thought it would be,” Eric said.
Eric credits local retired palliative care nurse Merilyn Freeman for creating the slogan for the project “you don’t need a name, you just need a story.”
He also tells of a visit from Taree High School where a student named Sam shared his father and grandfather’s story of being in the Ukraine army that has inspired him to consider a future as an army cadet.
Eric believes it is important to get a perspective of the youth to understand the full connection between Taree locals.
“I think it’s good to talk to young people about common themes and what we can get from each other, always telling them about the divisions of politics that I have to deal with everyday,” Eric said.
Eric will finish the project over the coming weekend with an animated presentation projected on the walls of the gallery, where he will attempt to identify the common themes and ideas between works.
He has already begun putting the pieces together.
“There’s an empathy towards emotion, there’s an empathy towards common rituals and an empathy to geography, weather, animals and food,” Eric said.
Eric has enjoyed a long association with Taree with many in-law relatives still in the area.
“I’m a common visitor to your town, I’ve been coming here for 32 years.
“I’ll be back,” Eric said.
After he completes the project, Eric will return to Sydney where he is set to finish a Masters degree that is expected to follow a similar theme to the Common Ground project.
