Artist Katya Mortensen highlights Goulburn's heritage in exhibition

But in the 22 years she's lived in the Goulburn district, the artist has developed a love of local buildings, their history and lamented those lost to the bulldozer.

Raising awareness of these "pockets of history" and their link to a past culture is the motivation behind her latest exhibition - Then Surviving the Now. It opens at the Goulburn Club on Friday night, August 12.

"The title is a bit controversial because some of these buildings are not surviving," Katya said.

"...It was absolutely amazing to discover the Empire Theatre's (in Auburn Street) interior beauty and capacity. It was comparable to the Sydney Theatre and was a big asset to Goulburn."

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The collection of 31 works acrylic and digital art works depict CBD buildings, past and present, across three poster series.

The first - Glimpses of the Past - contrasts the old with the new and emphasises architectural elements and information collected from archival sources. It includes the former Commonwealth Bank, Commercial Bank in Montague Street, the Bank of NSW, Lemon Model Arcade, Knowlman's corner and the Odeon, Hoyts and Broadway Theatres.

Redraw the Old shows the complexity of the old architecture and digitally redraws the old buildings that haven't survived.

Katya said she sourced old photos from the library and other archives for her works. She was particularly fascinated with the 1889 London Bank that formerly occupied the now closed ANZ bank building on the Auburn/Montague Street corner.

"My aim is to make a point that it is not always necessary to destroy the old buildings," she said.

"We still have some but I hope to highlight that we don't need to keep demolishing them. It is not necessary to change everything."

Similarly, she decries bold-coloured signage and 'corrugated iron' facade tops which she says detract from the buildings' beauty.

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The third 'poster' series - Close Proximity - presents and illustration of "contradictory co-existence" of old and new buildings on Auburn Street.

Katya argues that elements of older architecture are often ignored in favour of functionality, resulting in "questionable co-existence of the new with past standards of style and beauty."

"Let's maintain and preserve something of those features," she said.

"It's not about criticising the council because this was done years ago. We just shouldn't repeat the same policies. We are talking about our main street where tourists go."

The exhibition arose from two projects completed as part of her Fine Arts degree in 2015.

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Katya, who is also a graphic artist, is well known in local art circles for her versatility. Her works range from flowers, birds, animals and insects - depicting her love of Australian nature - to landscapes and portraits.

She has exhibited her work widely, including Sydney, Wollongong, Gosford, Queanbeyan and Goulburn.

Katya was born and raised in Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg, but migrated to Australia in 2000 to marry her now husband, Alex Mortensen. The couple live at Quialigo.

The exhibition opens at 6.30pm at the Goulburn Club on Friday and runs until October 23.

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