ARTIST Jennifer Gowen, of Caringbah, travelled to Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2011 as co-curator of an exhibition of Australian works for the Centre for Contemporary Arts.
It was the first international exhibition to be held in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban and the first exhibition of Australian art to be shown in the country.
A month in war-torn Afghanistan left an impression which she has since transferred to canvases, to be exhibited at Hazelhurst Regional Gallery & Arts Centre, Gymea, from this Saturday.
"The artworks were all from my memory; things I saw and experienced," she said.
The abstract artist worked with female students at the contemporary art centre.
The exhibition is the result of two years' work and focuses on the daily lives of Afghans as they live their lives in a fragile, volatile and war-weary country.
Of her painting, Spand Boys Peddling Good Fortune, she said: "I was intrigued by the street boys weaving in and out of traffic with tin cans with smoke that would waft in the car windows", pointing out the representation of cans and smoke.
"The boys sell the spand and make about two dollars a week for their families," she said.
Afghanistan: A Personal Insight will be at Hazelhurst on May 17-27.
