This is an exhibition that explores a range of printmaking techniques using the broad theme of the natural environment as its subject matter but dealing in particular with trees. It covers collagraphs, woodblocks, monotypes, etched linocuts/collagraphs as well as a group of three-dimensional objects in papier mâché clay, collage and varnish.

The techniques used have been selected by the artist for their efficacy in evoking the marks and textures that characterise the bark surfaces of trees in the Australian landscape. Her use of these techniques is particularly effective and her images invite close viewer inspection. Bark Fugue 2 is an etched lino/collagraph that initially presents as an almost abstract pattern of organic forms and lines spread over the vertical surface on which they sit. While abstraction is present the real presence of strips of bark peeling off a tree trunk is also clearly asserted. The quiet tension between abstraction and reality and their elision into the finished image is typical of Yates's best work in the exhibition. The palette here is subdued yet beautifully effective. Contrasting hues of greys, blacks and red browns speak of the tonal alterations that announce the seasonal flows of nature. These changes are also alluded to in the subtle intimations of movement that the artist invests into the various forms dispersed across and through the pictorial space.

Forest Reflection has a vibrant red palette and continues the use of similar organic forms representing slivers of bark seen in Bark Fugue 2. The overall red presentation combined with a network of intricately patterned lines offers stark contrast to the former and speaks of the artist's skilled use of colour and understanding of the characteristics of the different print techniques she adopts throughout the exhibition. The use of red in this piece is declarative and bold and particularly effective.

Contrast is used particularly well in another bold work. Bark Remnant is a powerful visual statement. A dense overlay of massed black and white forms (again organic) sits over a blue-grey background. Abstraction here prevails over realism but within the overall context of the exhibition possibilities for the coexistence of both are not diminished. I thought of lichens or other fungal growths on tree trunks but these sorts of possible interpretations remain secondary to the immediate impact of Yates's powerful use of contrasts.

The use of woodblocks brings to mind the wonderful productions of Japanese printmaking and the artist alludes to, for example, Hokusai and Hiroshige in a number of monotypes notably Kimberley Rains, Rockface, Lightning and Distant Rain. A series of what Yates calls "BOOKS" also hold reference to Japanese art, here to screens. These are charming but could have had more presence if they were scaled up.

The exhibition also includes a number of three-dimensional works. Of these the most resolved are the standing vessels. The cylinder form clearly evokes that of trees and the nuanced surfaces of her graphic work is also at play here. The intrusive use of mirrored bases needs to be reconsidered. The free form vessels are exercises and like the mirrors should be removed.

Finding the Essence takes us on a journey through the Australian bush and (for the most part) does this with a quiet beauty and reverence for the subject matter. Yates also celebrates the versatility of printmaking and its appropriateness through a number of techniques to convey meaning and her appreciation of her chosen theme.