Montville Artspace

Montville Artspace

I cannot say I have been to many commercial art galleries let alone one in a small town in the QLD hinterlands, but the Montville Artspace seemed to be pretty new, there was no proper signage on the building, and there was a lot of work sitting around the gallery edges waiting to be displayed, but I was still quite impressed with what I found with the range of work and interesting artist’s being represented there, and the Art Gallery Director Christopher De Lisle was more than happy to take the time to talk to me about the work displayed at the gallery and any other questions about the space.

There were many typical pieces displayed that you would expect to find at a Gallery in a place like Montville, animal statues made from local wood or metals, and landscape photography, but what really interested me was the collection of contemporary work that took up almost half the gallery wall space by local Noosa artist Dean Reilly, and a collection of “new age” Indigenous art by Tarisse King local VIC Indigenous Australian artist. When I had asked about what sort of stuff they like to display and how that generally works out Chris informed me that the classics are very popular, the oldies love to come and look at the classic style paintings but because they have typically been collecting pieces for many years they do not have the space for more so they do not sell as well as the contemporary work.

When I first walked in I instantly walked to the back to look at the colourful and interesting paintings by Dean Reilly. His paintings are the sort of work that is very interesting to people (especially those with the space for it). Not all of his pieces where hung yet, and some were sitting on the floor waiting to go up in the empty spot, but this was not really a deterrent. Dean had a pretty interesting style, with great variation and design. A lot of the work I saw had writing of some sort that seemed to be his thoughts on an idea scrawled around the piece. It was apparent that he did not paint “a type” of thing or “a style” of anything in particular but he would simply “paint an idea” he likes his art to be wild and Ludacris, wanting it to incite reaction in the viewers. I think the best thing about Dean’s work was the fact that his paintings are very affordable in comparison to a lot of work you may see in galleries these days, with many different sizes ranging from around $600 to $3000.

Tarisse King on the other hand a young Indigenous Australian artist from South Australia, had a few paintings displayed, that were also very interesting to me. Tarisse has a style that draws upon the Central and Western Desert Aboriginal dotting style of painting the land typography that she has experimented with style and design to create unique works. Her paintings show large expanses of Australian land as if looking at it from outer space. Her travels between Darwin (where she lived as a child), Katherine and Adelaide are often depicted in most of her paintings in such beautiful ways that her paintings seemed to resinate with me. Compared to Dean Reilly’s work, Tarisse’s paintings are very heftily priced in comparison, but that does not affect the popularity, with the gallery already having sold a couple of her paintings.

Over all it was a very nice visit to the Montville Artspace, and I was very glad that Chris was able to take the time to talk to me a bit about how the gallery works (even taking down my details to send me more information about the artist’s), and what types of pieces do well in this commercial gallery (even though it was an unscheduled visit). I only wish I had more time to talk with him about the gallery and the artist’s he displays.

Metro Arts Gallery

Colour by Numbers

Dale Harding

Colour by Numbers is an Exhibition of works by Dale Harding (first solo exhibition) at Metro Arts, as part of the September Brisbane festival and was running for only a week from the 1^st till the 6^th of October, and can be viewed in the level 2 gallery space between 10am and 4:30pm.

The colour by numbers refers to the government and the number you are given according to the gradient of your skin tone. Dale displays works that relate to his cultural identity and place within Australia, and the exhibition incorporates the storytelling of Australia’s history with aboriginal children (particularly the exploitation of young women and girls like his grandmother), and incorporates it with the traditions of cross stitching that were passed down and taught to him by his grandmother and mother.

The exhibition consisted of one room with quite a number of works, the first two pieces that I saw where “Trusties on Trial” consisting of a simple needle on a string attached to old steel wool rolled and worked into a ball attached to the wall above a white horizontal piece of wood (plinth). This piece is referring to embroidery and is referencing working young girls (like his grandmother). It was beautifully simple and extremely effective, alone on the gallery wall not surrounded by anything else had a very big impact when viewing it.

Displayed on the wall parallel “Breaking Boundaries” was another seemingly simple, but very impacting piece. The work consisted of about 5 stakes, 4 with different degrees of burnt off wood, evenly attached to the wall all parallel to each other. Upon further discussions of this piece we discover this piece suggests cleansing, and the mapping of the land, also using the steaks to say something or tell a story like message sticks (a form of communication between Indigenous Australians).

One of my favourite works consisted of six different patterned cross stitch works all framed using found frames, which have also each been reframed. We were informed that Dale uses needlework as an outlet, to convey secret messages. It is clear that Dale is expressing his cultural identity within these pieces. Each frame displaying what looks like your typical cross stitch patterns with messages like “Bless our home with BROWN LOVE”, and “Im a happy little sodomite” stitched below two jars of cross stitched vegemite or “Homo Sweet Homo” stitched inside a typical house pattern underneath a rainbow and the use of two male symbols stitched between a cockatoo and a kangaroo, where Dale is openly sharing that he is a Queer Indigenous Australian.

Dale uses the colour pink a lot throughout his work in this exhibiton, this could be in reference to pink being known as the “gay” colour (since pink triangles branded gay men in the holocaust). In Dales other pieces he has used pink thread to stitch patterns of native Australian animals onto material or creating his own emblem using the cock’atoo and kangaroo facing into a black boy plant and two male symbols.

The Colour by Numbers exhibition was well presented, and it was great to see another artist using a medium generally not seen in the Indigenous Australian art scene.

QUT Art Museum

Tales Within Historical Spaces

Beata Batorowicz

Tales within Historical Spaces is an exhibition at the QUT Art Museum, running from the 1^st of September till the 28^th of October 2012. The exhibition is an amazing story by Polish born Beata Batorowicz, and her journey and exploration in learning about her family history and polish heritage.

In the process of exploration and learning Beata had a persona of a little girl who is like a fox, a trickster, very cheeky and intrigued by things eager for the journey. This is a character has been developed and carried through her artistic style and into this exhibition. A lot of the pieces in the exhibition were pieces that the little girl would use, or come across on her journey. With the use of a lot of crafty skills including knitting and sewing with materials such as fur, wool and leather, to bring together very childlike pieces with a fun presence.

The layout of the exhibition was pretty interesting, when explained by the curator that it was set out like a book and each room was essentially a new chapter, each with different elements added to the story. When you enter the first room there are a few things you notice, firstly the room is black, and there are no plaques on the walls accompanying the work. I believe the reason for this was that Beata preferred to not have them so as not to interfere with the work, instead a small pamphlet was available for layout and naming of the 49 different pieces displayed. As you walked through the 4 different rooms, it was explained that each room was like a chapter in the book, and the first and final rooms were painted black and dimly light, whereas the second and third room where white, and lighter, going back to how this was all a part of telling the story.

The works where inspired by an old book “Tales from Auschwitz” that where little fairy tales that were secretly written and illustrated by the fathers who were stuck in concentration camps (for their children). The story fit nicely together bringing the documents and photographic prints of the knowledge Beata learnt about Poland and about her Grandmother (and family). By starting with a trip to Poland to visit her grandmother, and learn about her cultural heritage and her grandmothers experiences in WWII she intertwined this well with the persona and experiences of “The Trickster”.

 In each room there was a glimpse of Poland and her heritage, the use of red was very dominate, suggesting the polish colours, and also making me think of the violence and bloodshed that would have happened in WWII, it was also interesting the use of a red cross across the pieces, suggesting healing tying into the overall story.

From the first room which displayed pictures from Poland, and introduced new characters and props in the story, some of my favourite pieces were the leather badger and the fox’s mask in the first room, the 3 tails and bear mask in the second room, and the staffs with the animals on them in the third room, which had interesting shadows creeping onto the walls behind them because of well placed lighting, and finally a large pair of knitted suspenders that took up the space of the whole room, representing the pair of suspenders that where the only found remains of the little tricksters father in a plane wreckage.

We are lead through the rooms with a consistent flow leading from one piece of work to another, with a small amount of writing in each room, set out as if next to an image in a children’s book. Each piece discovered in the exhibition adds a new element to the story and tells you more. Beata manages to open up what she has learnt about her ancestors and culture, and the journey of learning, and she shares it well with the viewer taking them to another place as soon as they walk in, and it is dealt with in a very interesting and respectful way.

I believe that in working closely with the artist the QUT art Museum was able to establish a very interesting exhibition that had me involved and learning from the very start.

The Swich Contemporary Art Space

by Sam Rohweder

I can’t help but feel that many believe you have to come into the heart of Brisbane to experience the best of what the South East region has to offer artistically. Often there is more reward for looking outside the box for inspiration. A fine example of that is The Swich Contemporary Art Space located at the Top of Town, Heritage Precinct in Ipswich. The Swich provides space for local emerging and established artists to exhibit and sell their work.  It is a fully fledged commercial concern in the heart of Ipswich; it offers gallery hire, has a gift shop and provides professional photographic services, advertising and promotion. The Swich staff  are also very involved in keeping the local art community focused and inspired by regularly offering insightful and sometimes thought provoking artist talks in a friendly atmosphere.  The Swich also encourages collaborations and projects, as well as provide a door for local artist to access professional art networks.

"Our conception of a ‘contemporary art space’ is not bound by the notion of location and therefore is not restricted only to art dedicated spaces such as museums, galleries and studios.

It is about transforming spaces and using contemporary art as key elements in changing the perceptions of people and communities—to transform our everyday experiences of space and place." 

                                                          (theswichcontempoararyartspace 2012)

The Swich is driven by two very talented and experienced owners, Gilbert Burgh and LeAnne Vincent. Project Director Gilbert Burgh is a man of many hats as he is Southern Regional Director for Queensland Arts Council, a member of the Community Arts Action Group, is on both the Ipswich Regional Arts Development Fund and Ipswich Art Awards committees and is a friend of the Ipswich Art Gallery. Not to mention his teaching and speaking commitments in Ipswich and Brisbane. While LeAnne Vincent is Gallery Director and photographer and has worked extensively in the public sector. Her professional photographic career has meant that she has exhibited works at The Brisbane Powerhouse, Metro Arts and White Box Gallery just to name a few.

The Swich’s latest Solo exhibition entitled “Eklektikos” is by contemporary painter David Howard, a former QCA graduate, who is now based at the Glasshouse Mountains on the Sunshine Coast. These 30 works are a eclectic mix of works from over his many years of arts practice. You can see how his thought processes go through phases and his work evolves but there is still an enduring frankness that ties all these separate pieces together. I really enjoyed David's down to earth style and lack of pretense. The opening was a busy event and I was surprised to see many of his works were already sold. Unfortunately this exhibition has just closed in preparation for the next; however he has other work in the Artslink Qld Touring Exhibiting program at the moment if you are keen to see his work.

There have been some amazing exhibitions in this beautiful little gallery and one thing I can truly say about The Swich Contemporary Art Space is that all the openings are very well attended by fellow artists, local socialites and buyers. Being such a small gallery space it is common to see the crowd spill out onto the walkway in front on opening night, which always looks encouraging. I believe The Swich Contemporary Art Space is a wonderful backdrop for any practicing artist's exhibition as there is an amazing vibe about the place, or maybe that’s just me.

The Swich Contemporary Art Space is situated in Top of Town precinct with its wonderful Bohemian or “Indie” vibe . Top of Town is growing into a very avant-garde cultural epicenter out in the western region. It's beautiful old heritage buildings, brick paved walkways and old street lamps are centered around the “Old Flour Mill” and filled with eclectic stores. There are quirky boutiques alongside inviting, friendly sidewalk cafes and eateries. The twilight markets on Fridays from 4-8pm have an array of unusual stalls and are true to the “Indie Boutique” style. The Top of Town is definitely growing into the creative heart of Ipswich and The Swich Contemporary Art Space contributes to and benefits from the people that it draws.

References

The Swich Contemporary Art Space (2012) retrieved October 21, 2012 from http://www.theswichcontemporaryartspace.com.au/

The Top of Town Ipswich

http://www.topoftownipswich.com.au/

The Swich Contemporary Art Space Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Swich-Contemporary-Art-Space/114582858625226?fref=ts

Beata Batorowicz, Tales with historical spaces Review

written by Sam Rohweder

I knew, even before I stepped into the space, that I was going to love this exhibition. The dark grey wall with its' bold red hand-styled type announcing the exhibition and the darker walls with muted lighting beyond added to the atmosphere of Mystic old world charm that excited my imagination. The impression I had when I first stepped down was of heading into an old forest, reminiscent of the one in Red Riding Hood.

We were fortunate enough to be guided through the exhibition by QUT Curator Pia Robinson who talked about the layout of the exhibition. She spoke of the soft, warm lighting choice that helps to evoke a sense of warmth and comfort. She also explained how she used the wall colours to push the narrative of the exhibition with introduction on the darker walls, content of the story in a brighter environment and then a somber wrap up with darker walls, once again, at the end. Pia went on to talk about the artist Beata, and give us some insights into the background for this body of work.

Beata Batorowicz was born in Poland and immigrated to Australia, settling in Queensland with her parents when she at the age of five. Most of what she knew of Poland was from the stories her parents told her and the Polish story books they read to her. As a child she had been most especially fascinated with a Fox character in the Polish story book “Brzechwa’s Dzieciom” by Jan Brzechwa and illustrated by Jan Marcin Szancer. Beata identifies with this cunning character and certainly pays homage to him in many aspects of her work, often referring to herself as a Trickster or Foxy Artist.

We were lucky enough to be joined by Beata for our tour and she quietly shared her thoughts and insights into the processes of her work. I was most fascinated with her description of big art and little art. She explains that 'big art' is based primarily in description and documentation, it is more institutionalized. In contrast 'little art' is more concerned with narratives and the stories of emotions. She feels that her work has more of a folksy feel to it, with her use of crafts such as sewing and knitting. The puppets and masks stitched together with skins and fabrics also have a very old world feel. They are much more tactile objects, having been created to be used or worn rather than just admired. She says her Trickster character is a symbol of the little art practice which she identifies with.

This exhibition is the culmination of a project that began with Beata going back to Poland to explore her origins. There she gathered stories from her grandmother and visited the places of her early childhood. What she brought back from that visit was a sense of nostalgia and whimsy, interlaced with her parents and grandmothers stories of hardship and loss during World War 2. It's difficult to imagine marrying together these diverse concepts into a cohesive exhibition but, Beata is a story teller at heart. Using her persona as the Foxy artist and trickster Beata weaves her story through her lovely illustrations reminiscent of those from “fairytales from Auschwitz” set beside meticulously crafted puppets and masks. These are interspaced with polarized photographs of the Polish forest in winter, family stories in didactics on the walls and framed photographs and documentation from World War 2, to create the complete narrative.

What she finally shares with us is a poetic representation of how her adult eyes and her childhood imaginings have merged to create a lovely, unworldly story of her family’s history. It's all together heart breaking and uplifting at the same time. Beata will be taking this exhibition to Poland in 2013, and I can't help but wonder, what they will they make of her interpretations there? 

A Review on the 2012 Sydney Biennale

Barbara Vivash

S2765600

A Review on the 2012 Sydney Biennale

Ever since the inauguration of the Sydney Biennale in 1973, its primary motivation has been to provide an arena for individual artists rather than the longstanding tradition of national pavilions. This year the 18^th Biennale of Sydney, entitled all our relations, is presented in five venues: the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Pier 2/3, Cockatoo Island and for the first time, the Redfern based contemporary arts institution, Carriageworks.

The idea for the Biennale emerged from discussions between the two curators of the exhibition, Catherine de Zegher and Gerald McMaster. In the official Guide to the Biennale, they write in the forward, ‘A changing reality is apparent in a renewed attention to how things connect – how we relate to each other and the world in which we inhabit.’

Forty countries are represented by more than one hundred artists, of which, at least half, have created new works specifically for all our relations. Forty-five artists travelled to Australia to install their works and remained to participate in the opening celebrations and public programs.

The Biennale criteria for inclusion, was that the artist must be interested in conversation and collaboration. The invitation was to engage in the principle of dialogue. According to Catherine de Zegher “Artists…were asked to think through the event they engender and all our relations at large. The event thus generates its own condition for collaboration. A relational field is created in which a collectivity emerges, together with forthcoming future works.”

Each of the five venues developed its own concept. The Art Gallery of N.S.W. inspired by the collage of Blue Planet, 2003 by Jorge Macchi, devised the title of In Finite Blue Planet, for its section of the Biennale. Many artists are currently working with the idea of macrocosm – viewing the earth from afar, with the eye of a satellite. This illusion that the earth is infinite has been overcome by the realisation that it is certainly finite. The paradox is that the world economy encourages technology that is designed to fail to stimulate infinite growth. The artworks present different views for a globalized world, while considering living on a finite planet with its resultant endangered environment troubled by incessant war and migration changing patterns.

Iraqi artist Jananne Al-Ani’s Shadow Sites I, 2010, uses aerial perspectives to explore ‘the disappearance of the body in the contested and highly charged landscapes of the Middle East by examining what happens to the evidence of atrocity and genocide and how it affects our understanding of the often beautiful landscapes into which the bodies of victims disappear.

On the journey to the Museum of Contemporary Art, one reflects that one is moving from an exploration of the macrosphere, including works devoted to aerial perspective and migration, to an exploration of the microsphere of the every-day. The Museum of Contemporary Art’s concept is Possible Composition. The artworks have resulted from a composite of disparate or broken elements to form a heterogeneous whole. They reflect the need for composing together - a parallel for the need for collaborative and meaningful solutions in today’s world. Judith Wright’s A Journey, 2011, is an excellent example. The sculptural assemblage installation incorporates found objects to create stick-like figures with animalistic heads, all engaged in some mode of travel involving canoes, prams, pedal cars, wheelbarrows and wheelchairs. The artist has certainly combined disparate elements to create a parade of other-worldly beings, all intent on achieving their journey’s end.

Nicholas Hlobo’s Inkwili, 2011 and Amaqabaza, 2011 are created through stitching recycled multi-coloured ribbons onto a ground of tea stained watercolour paper. His ‘drawn’ watercolours have a fluid fairy-tale quality derived from certain, virtually extinct traditions in South African Xhosa culture.

Enroute to Cockatoo Island, the ferry makes a stop at Pier 2/3. The state-heritage listed undeveloped wharf, houses only three installations within its cavernous walls. Catherine De Zegher writes that ‘this Biennale venue functions as a kind of hinge between the mainland and the (Cockatoo) island, but also between the spheres as relayed in our project.’ The artworks presented in As above as below, aim to forge a link between earth and sky, between the public and private.

Tiffany Singh’s enormous installation, Knock on the Sky Listen to the Sound, 2010 transforms the space into an open-air musical instrument. Hundreds of bamboo chimes are suspended from the rafters, emulating places of religious significance where chimes are hung in large numbers near shrines or temples. The title Knock on the Sky Listen to the Sound, is a Buddhist proverb which the artist fist heard in the Himalayas. The artist believes that the intention of the chimes is to allow the winds of fortune or qi to flow freely through a space. In the void above the chimes, thousands of ribbons are hung in rainbow striations, moving rhythmically with the air currents creating an uplifting experience.

Tiffany Singh has seeded the notion of pilgrimage in this work. Visitors are presented with a set of the chimes and encouraged to take them home, decorate them as they wish and return them to a dedicated space on the Pier. The application of multiple sites, creates a non-static developmental work through viewer participation.

The concept for the project on Cockatoo Island is Stories Senses and Spheres. The project continues many of the ideas explored in the other Biennale venues by exposing the senses to water, wind and earth. The artworks are collaborative, interactive projects with shared storytelling and caring central to their creation. There are 49 artists represented on the island of which Jananne Al-Ani, Alwar Balasubramaniam, Juan Manual Echavarria, Nicholas Hlobo, Richardo Lanzarini, Tiffany Singh, Khaled Sabsabi, Yoshihiro Suda and Judith Wright all have artworks as well as at one of the other venues. I have the intention of comparing the works of some of these artists.

Biloela House, on the upper island, the former home of the prison superintendant, is the site for four installations. Judith Wright’s video The Stager, 2008, portrays not the mother’s coming and going but the child’s leaving, passing forever. The artist features Dame Margaret Scott in an encounter with a wooden doll, with whom she sits, both dressed in long red tutus, their hands identically arranged. The wooden doll is similar to the people ‘creations’ in A Journey, 2011 in the installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art. In both works, the sculptural assemblage represents the imaginary life of the artist’s dead child. In The Stager, 2008, the ‘dance of life’ concentrated in these moments are gestural representations of finally breaking away from the memory.

The blackboard motif is the theme of Juan Manuel Eschavarria’s La ‘O’, 2010. It is the sole recollection of ‘ghost’ classrooms in the destroyed schools of abandoned villages in Columbia. Instead of bloody corpses, Eschavarria’s photography captures the tragic abandon of the classrooms, alluding to past violence and eloquently, the absence of the children. This artist also has an installation in the Art Gallery of N.S.W. – Requiem NN2, 2006-11.  When the artist visited a cemetery near the Magdalena River in Columbia in 2006, he noticed that the tombs were marked with the letters ‘NN’ standing for no name. They stood for the mutilated bodies found in the riverbed, a consequence of the massacres that ravaged the countryside. The villagers ‘adopted’ these anonymous dead so that their souls would be saved, but asked favours in return. The lenticular photographs of the installation show a transformation of the tombs through time. Echavarria states, “their pact with the dead resists the perpetrators of violence and reconstructs the social fabric”. His concern with the dead and its subsequent influence on the living, have achieved a translation of souls.

Catherine De Zegher sums up the Biennale –“ all our relations brings together artists and audiences who have the capacity to leave the common state of consciousness, to embark on a journey toward the unknown, and to make contact with other forms of sensitivity and awareness with which human existence is entangled.” The 18^th Biennale of Sydney is a diverse ambitious project, too difficult to sum up in a few words. It was thought provoking, stimulating and exhausting – but not to be missed.

References

De Zegher, C and McMaster, G 18^th Biennale of Sydney: all our relations (Biennale of Sydney Ltd, SC International, China).2012.

De Zegher, C and McMaster, Guide: 18^th Biennale of Sydney, (Rural Press  Pty Ltd, Sydney),2012.

‘Artist Interview: Judith Wright’, Australian Art Collector, 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012 from Http://.artcollector.net.au/ArtistInterviewJudithWright

Review on She'll Be Right

Barbara Vivash

S2765600

Review on She’ll Be Right

Rachael Hayes, the Director of the artist-run initiative, (ARI), welcomed the group to Boxcopy. She explained that Boxcopy is a non-profit organisation formed with the intention of supporting innovative and conceptual early to mid-career Australian artists. In 2007 Boxcopy was founded as a venue where graduates in the visual arts and emerging artists could exhibit and participate in the art-scene network.

Rachael explained that often an ARI will usually have an operational life of two to three years. However if a durable structure is in place with a workable heirachy i.e. a director, a manager and a board, the initiative may continue for several years. A good example is Firstdraft, a Sydney based artist-run initiative which has operated for twenty years. Boxcopy’s volunteer structure consists of a director, two gallery managers and a board of seven.

Boxcopy has government based funding through Arts Queensland, the Brisbane City Council, Visual Arts and Craft Strategy and MAAP (Multimedia Art Asia Pacific). As government based funding will not pay for real estate, the project also sources funding from the members of the infrastructure and local fund raising initiatives. All positions in the gallery are purely voluntary, each member valuing the experience, the networking potential and being able to ‘give back’ to the art community.

Clark Beaumont is currently exhibiting She’ll Be Right at the gallery and were present to discuss their work and inspirations. Sarah Clark and Nicole Beaumont are a collaborative duo, working with screen-based culture to explore interpersonal relationships, female subjectivity and intimacy. They reflected that a number of Australian films that they have known since childhood have influenced their own identities through repeated exposure to characteristically Australian identities and traits.

They decided to do a ‘mash-up’ of these iconic films to create and express a narrative through their own performance.

She’ll Be Right, is a ‘mash-up’ of Muriel’s Wedding and The Castle. The installation consists of five video screens, each fed through its corresponding DVD player. Three screens have been positioned on a gallery wall with the remaining two positioned directly opposite. At any one time, three of the videos are engaged. Nicole Beaumont said that ideally, the viewer should stand in the middle of the gallery space and turn from screen to screen.

Each video sequence runs for up to three and one half minutes, after which, another machine will begin its programme. This creates a cross current of high impact dialogue. By substituting themselves into the film scenes, using repetitive phrases, changing the wording, the timing and the sequence of the phrases, the viewer is constantly bemused, as they listen to familiar male voices issuing from totally discordant female faces.

The most arresting of the three video sequences, is a scene from The Castle where Micahel Caton’s character, Darryl Kerrigan is arguing with his solicitor, Dennis Denuto (Tiriel Moro). The actual dialogue is: –

 “You have lost faith in yourself Dennis.

Darryl,

You have lost faith!

Darryl it’s over my head, its over your head too!

Over my head! Dennis!”

Darryl!”

The reconstructed dialogue from the video is:-

“It’s over my head. (fading in)

It’s over my head. (still fading in)

Darryl, you have lost faith

You have lost faith

[Wake up to yourself] – (interpolated from another video).

You have lost faith.

Darryl, you have lost faith.

Darryl it’s over my head and it is over your head too.

It’s over my head!

Darryl, you have lost faith

Darryl you have lost faith.

Darryl it’s over my head and it’s over your head too.

It’s over my head!

It’s over my head!

It is interesting that the name ‘Darryl’ has replaced ‘Dennis’ in the dialogue. Sarah Clark takes the role of Darryl, emulating the nuances of Caton’s movements. The repetition of the clichéd phrases creates the sense of overwhelming failure and the inevitability of its acceptance.

The second scene of the installation depicts a guy and a girl (Sarah) romping in a back yard. A clothes airing rack has been placed on the grass. The laughing, happy couple skip around the rack touching the frame occasionally. Nicole is standing at a window silently watching the couple. The window opens and Nicole shouts “Wake up to yourself!”, “Wake up to yourself!”, “Wake up to yourself!” The video fades but one of the other 5 screens is activated. There are usually 3 screens operating at any one time.

This is Clark Beaumont’s re-enactment of this scene from Muriel’s Wedding. Perry, (Muriel’s brother), is in the greatly overgrown backyard, kicking a carton of milk pretending it is a football. He shouts: “He kicks the goal!” “Heslop! Heslop!” All the while, watching from a window is his father, Bill Heslop (Bill the battler). Bill is outraged, furious! He suddenly thrusts the window open and shouts “Perry!” A smouldering silence, “Wake up to yourself!” and slams the window closed.

Perry has paused mid-kick. As the window is closed, he resumes his game, kicking the carton again.

The re-enactment of this scene involves a total reconstruction. There are two people in the backyard, instead of one; the couple are playing ring-a-rosy around the airing rack and not playing football; Nicole’s portrayal of Bill hunter’s character is not a re-creation; the dialogue is repeated three times. The command, “wake up to yourself!” is a phrase often used by an Australian parent. Perhaps the puerile activity in the re-enactment emphasises the inadequacy of the ridiculous phrase.

In the third re-enactment, Sarah and Nicole are seen resting pensively against a tree, while the instrumental sounds of ABBA’s Fernando fade in softly. After a short time the girls are singing the words, “If I had to do the same again, I would my friend Fernando”. This scene is also a re-portrayal of a segment from Muriel’s Wedding. After a lip-sync competition, Muriel and Rhonda are resting in drunken companionship against the trunk of a palm tree, poolside. They are both pensively looking up at the night sky. They begin to sing softly the words to ABBA’s Fernando, “If I had to do the same again, I would my friend Fernando”.

In this scene Sarah and Nicole capture the essence of the original scene, the quiet presence, the wordless companionship. These are the necessary identifiers of ‘mateship’. This scene succeeds without the repetitive dialogue and achieves a mocking success with a long, long silence and the plaintive strains of Fernando.

By drawing on sequences from Muriel’s Wedding and The Castle, two iconic Australian films, Clark Beaumont have tapped into the viewer’s sense of the familiar. Through selective editing they have reconstructed scenes to expose the intrinsic Australian identity by portraying characteristics of failure, insecurity and conviction. During the interview, Nicole Beaumont indicated that they aim to entertain the audience, but ultimately “the rest is up to the viewer”. Sarah Clark revealed that, their approach to each project is through “consuming, analysing and producing”.

References

Clark Beaumont, 2012, Boxcopy .Retrieved 11 October 2012 from http://boxcopy.org/2012/09/19/clark-beaumont/

Muriel’s Wedding 1994, DVD, Australian Film Finance Corp. Ltd., Film Victoria and House & Moorhouse Films Pty Ltd and Peter Szabo & Associates Pty Ltd.

Studio Visit with Clark Beaumont, 2012 Safari 2012/supporting unrepresented and emerging artists. Retrieved 11 October 2012 from http://safari.org.au

The Castle, 1997, Village Roadshow Pictures and Working Dog.

Review on Dai Li recent works at the Heiser Gallery

Barbara Vivash

S 2765600

Review on Dai Li recent Works at the Heiser Gallery.

Bruce Heiser, the Director of the Heiser Gallery, established the gallery in November, 2004 in Arthur Street, Fortitude Valley. By definition, a gallery is a long, narrow room and the Heiser gallery is true to the definition, providing an unpretentious venue for a broad spectrum of art. The gallery exhibition schedule presents solo exhibitions of new works from the artists he represents. In addition, the stock room includes some impressive twentieth century pieces from artists such as Ian Fairweather, Ian Crooke and Sam Fullbrook as well as select nineteenth century Queensland art.

As a member of the Australian Commercial Galleries Association, the Heiser Gallery is committed to the ‘Code of Practice’ for Australian commercial galleries and the artists they represent. According to the ‘Code of Practice’, even though the principal service provided by the gallery is the sale of an artist’s work, full gallery representation includes the following list of services:

·        Staging regular in-house exhibitions, producing catalogues and invitations.

·        Archive and curriculum vitae maintenance.

·        Maintaining visual material for promotional purposes.

·        Media archive maintenance/records of promotional activities/post-show summaries of media outcomes and promotional material.

·        Pursuing ongoing sales and exhibition opportunities outside the gallery in the private sector (e.g. in museums, public galleries, festivals, survey shows and biennales).

·        Pursuing commissioning opportunities and advocating for the artist’s interests.

·        Cultivating collectors and corporate clients.

·        Monitoring the artist’s interests and legal rights.

·        Collaborating with the artist on competition, grant and commission submissions.

·        Pursuing critical writing and publishing opportunities for the artist.

·        Recording of all works left on consignment, location of all works sold and on loan.

The document also states that this list is intended as a guide only to the core services a gallery providing full representation may offer. However, not all galleries provide all of the services.

The ‘Code of Practice’ indicates that the artist and the gallery should negotiate the amount of commission to be paid to the gallery, based on the services provided. The suggested amount is forty per cent of the GST exclusive retail price of the art work. During the interview, Bruce Heiser said that the Gallery operated as a business and as such charged a commission on the sales. He indicated that the cost of an exhibition was usually shared by the artist and the gallery.

One of the gallery’s artists, Julie Fragar was interviewed about gallery exclusivity. She clarified that the system was not as rigid as represented by the ‘Code of practice’ with the agreement between the gallery and artist not usually a written contract. With the exception of some gallery proprietors, representation tends not to be exclusive, with artists having additional representation nationally and internationally.

Even though the Heiser gallery represents well known artists such as Alun Leach-Jones and Noel McKenna and Julie Fragar, it was always intended to evolve by including younger and emerging artists as well. As it is with Dai Li. Dai Li was born in China twenty-five years ago and attended the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute for four years. She relocated to Australia in 2009 after her graduation from the Institute and now lives and works in Queensland.

In recent works, Dai Li has incorporated pieces from her The Games We Play exhibition at the Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery in July this year with her more recent works. The theme of works from The Games We Play evolved from her memories of childhood games. The artist’s figurines sculpted from stoneware express a softness of texture and gestural fluidity, unexpected from such a rigid medium. Each figure expresses an instant of reaction where the stimuli may be the fear of discovery, the thrill of winning, the joy of play. For example, in Cheat 2012 (Fig. 1) the little girl’s expression is confident and satisfied, surprising as she is blindfolded. However closer inspection reveals a fraction of her left eye is unobscured and she is certainly not in the dark. Similarly, I’m not here 2012 (Fig. 2) is a desperate attempt to be invisible as the little girl obscures her head beneath a flower pot.

Some of the 2012 figures allude to more adult reactions. On the rocks I 2012 (Fig. 5) and On the rocks II 2012 (Fig. 3) depict figures having endured a conflict and found stranded on rocky outcrops. On the rocks II 2012 (Fig. 3) is particularly eloquent. A cowed, apprehensive girl peers up through the wet strands of her hair. The viewer is conscious of her sense of dread – did she fall whilst being pursued or was she washed up onto the rocks? On the rocks I 2012 (Fig. 5) is the complete antitheses, with the girl draped limply across the rocks, barely conscious. This figure exudes vulnerability, the result of fear or violence, having given up any further attempt to escape.

Escape 2012 (Fig. 4) is another poignant piece where the artist has created an oval tub filled with simulated soap bubbly water. The naked figure is in the foetal position, perhaps simulating the ultimate escape – back to the womb. The viewer is originally arrested by the aesthetics of the work and then experiences empathy as a response to the total vulnerability and reality of the figure.

Of the thirty-seven pieces in the exhibition, my favourite is I don’t need it, but I want it 2012 (Fig.5). It is most likely a sympathetic response to that shopping dilemma, should I buy this totally desirable, but superfluous garment? The artist has completely captured the longing and the guilt as the little lady tenderly holds the garment against her body and considers the effect in a (imaginary) mirror.

At first glance the exhibition consists of a collection of quaint, fun little people, but on closer inspection the viewer realises that, to quote Jess Hall from the Bundaberg Art Gallery:

            Dai Li… seeks to set up metaphorical connections between the games we play

and deeper emotional experiences in life. …Moments of contemplation

or unguarded moments when no one is watching – or we are hiding – are

moments when people can reveal their true nature.

Each piece is a unique, believable character with the power to create an empathetic dialogue with the viewer. Dai Li has achieved this through gesture, uncannily accurate facial expressions and individualising each character through costume and physical attributes.

At first the exhibition appears sparse and uninspiring until the viewer realises that the gallery has become a landscape, a home to Dai li’s little people. Each character has been carefully considered and placed with other similarly emoting characters or floating on the gallery wall. The sparseness emphasises the individuality of each piece and ensures that the viewer travels to each piece, giving it due consideration avoiding the initial impression of a collection of fun ornaments.

Images

References

ACGA 2003, Code of Practice. Retrieved 17 October, 2012 from http://www.acga.com.au/about

Dai Li 2012, Dai Li on Etsy. Retrieved 17 October, 2012 from http://www.etsy.com/people/dailiwonderland

Hall, J. 2012, Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery Exhibition Openings. Retrieved 17 October, 2012 from Http://bundabergartsnetwork.wordpress.com/tag/dai-li/

Heiser Gallery 2012, Dai Li. Retrieved 17 October, 2012 from Http://www.heisergallery.com.au/artists/daili/index.html

Robyn Bauer Studio Gallery - Expressions x 3

Expressions x 3

Robyn Bauer Studio Gallery

Robyn Bauer Studio Gallery advertises itself as one of Brisbane’s leading Art Galleries, with an emphasis on exhibiting sculptural works created by Queensland artists. Upon entering the gallery space, viewers may notice that the layout is similar to the inside of an upmarket home. As the exterior of the building, adjacent to the road, appears to be of a similar size to the neighbouring retail shops, the capaciousness of the Robyn Bauer Studio Gallery is quite surprising. On top of the three standard room sized spaces, there is a deck with a striking view of a Jacaranda tree in full bloom, and a flight of stairs displaying more hidden delights. The Expressions x 3 exhibition showcased three established artists; which included Ann O’Connor, Gerry O’Connor and Patrick Boddington. Ann is a well-known ceramic artist and jeweller, Gerry has worked for more than twenty years in the Western form of the ancient Asian Raku process, and Patrick has focused on painting representational depictions of Girraween National Park.

Expressions x 3 attracted a predominately well-dressed, middle-aged clientele; essentially people with a certain air of sophistication and the appearance of wealth. The atmosphere at this exhibition may come as a shock to Fine Art students who have become accustomed to attending openings where young adults dress in anything from eccentric op-shop attire, to ostentatiously ‘hipster’ paraphernalia. Instead of a mass of twenty-something year olds drinking and smoking just outside the entrance of the gallery, the attendees of the Expressions x 3 politely sip on wine and mingle with one another within the confines of the gallery space. It seems as if everything about this exhibition, and the Robyn Bauer Studio Gallery, exudes commerciality. Each artwork has a price tag attached to it, with prices ranging from $30 to $6,000; perhaps a bit too pricey for your run-of-the-mill university student.

Each artist shares an appreciation of nature in common, as evidenced by their artworks on display. Ann’s practice is influenced by the rainforest in Mt. Glorious, where she lives. Her series of large-hand-built bowls aim to express a deep appreciation of the beauty of nature through the intricate carvings of trees and birds. Gerry has also adopted a practice that is grounded in nature, with an emphasis on nature’s inherent asymmetry (Robyn Bauer Studio Gallery 2006). Correspondingly, Patrick’s gouache paintings intend on capturing the vigour and excitement of what he feels when in the midst of the Girraween National Park’s beautiful landscape (Robyn Bauer Studio Gallery 2006).

Although Expressions x 3 does not have the same slap-in-the-face shock value qualities of most contemporary art being produced in Brisbane, these works are still of significance in a move towards social change. The artists’ appreciation of the natural environment coincides with a key objective of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) that involves working towards promoting ecologically sustainable development (Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 2012). Specific to Girraween National Park, the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection established a management plan in 2010 that involved conserving the natural ecosystems of the park, conveying Girraween’s natural and cultural values to the broader community, and identifying and protecting Indigenous and shared history (Girraween National Park – Management Plan 2010 2012). Expressions x 3 purports the ideals of this management plan by raising awareness about the beauty of Girraween National Park to an audience who may not have otherwise known of this location’s existence.   

Expressions x 3 might not appeal to most Fine Art students’ tastes as it is considerably more conservative than what students are generally exposed to during their studies. Nonetheless, this exhibition may be a welcome alternative to students who are in need of a break from all of the politics and intellectualism underpinning typically provocative contemporary art. Viewers may find that some of the works by Ann, Gerry and Patrick allow for quiet, contemplative meditation – certainly a stress relieving activity that any university student may find beneficial whilst busily completing end of year assessment!

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References

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 2012, viewed 21 October 2012, <http://www.environment.gov.au/about/publications/annual-report/10->.  

Girraween National Park – Management Plan 2010 2012, viewed 21 October 2012, <http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/managing/plans-strategies/pdf/mp004-girraween-management-plan-2010.pdf>.

Robyn Bauer Studio Gallery 2006, viewed 21 October 2012, <http://www.robynbauergallery.com.au/about>. 

QUT Art Museum - Tales within Historical Spaces

Tales within Historical Spaces

Beata Batorowicz’ Tales within Historical Spaces, which opened at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Art Museum on 1 September 2012 and will be touring Poland in 2013, displayed the artist’s process of unearthing and reconnecting with childhood memories, with a particular emphasis on Polish and German experiences during World War II.

Upon entering the pristine gallery space, it becomes evident that the section reserved for Tales within Historical Spaces is comparatively dimmer than the adjacent section of the gallery; as if to suggest that Batorowicz’ art works have subtexts as dark as the lighting. Pia Robinson, member of the curatorial team at the QUT Art Museum, unveiled the dark subject matter behind the exhibition by highlighting that the artist was informed by Fairy Tales from Auschwitz; a book that was secretly written and illustrated by Polish prisoners in concentration camps for their children (Queensland University of Technology 2012). Jadwiga Kulasza, Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum historian, stated that Fairy Tales from Auschwitz was an “…illegal work of Polish prisoners who had access to paints and paper because they were forced to labour in the S.S offices that produced plans for the expansion of the camp” (Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau 2012). It is clear that the influence of the illustrations in Fairy Tales from Auschwitz on Batorowicz’ art works is strong as both share the use of highly saturated colours, tones of varying transparency, and delicate lines. Each body of work exude a sense of purity and youthful wonder that one could associate with the saccharine illustrations in classic children’s books by Beatrix Potter or Enid Blyton. However, like saccharine, the sweetness is only artificial; once the viewer is made aware of the dark subtexts that both Fairy Tales from Auschwitz and Tales within Historical Spaces share; the viewer may be left with an unwavering bitter aftertaste.

Batorowicz’ soft sculptural art works bring the bitter side effects of sickly sweet saccharin to the forefront. In one room it appears that a bizarre take on the process of taxidermy has come to fruition. Across the room’s dimly lit walls, animals are skewered on. The shadows produced through the dark lighting only add to the grim atmosphere, a sense that the animals are attacking one another. Depending on how much of an animal rights activist the viewer is; they may be averse to Tales within Historical Spaces completely on the basis of Batorowicz’ use of leather, let alone the questionably realistic looking fur. Politics aside, it may be evident that not all of Batorowicz’ soft sculptural art works are as confronting as the animals hanging from sticks. Hedgehog (2012) is arguably one of the more subdued sculptures. Parallel to Batorowicz’ other soft sculptures; it is comprised of leather, wire, beads, leather thonging and felt. Hedgehog (2012) is located in the first room on the left-hand side of the gallery, encircled by The Trickster (2011), Tales from Wroclaw (2011), Trickster’s glove (2011) and Paw Warmer (2012). Its presence in this section of the gallery space, combined with the dim lighting and lively colours of the surrounding art works, emanates a sense of cosiness. Cosiness akin to Hayao Miyazaki’s animated fantasy film, My Neighbour Totoro (1988); particularly the scene in which Mei plays outside her home in the countryside and discovers a forested cavern with a gigantic Totoro, a forest spirit only visible to children, sleeping in its den (Miyazaki 1988). Despite the size of this creature, Mei feels safe in its presence, and quickly befriends the Totoro. Likewise, Hedgehog (2012) may have the same ominous undercurrent as Batorowicz’ other art works, but because its intended purpose and appearance is that of a cloak, as opposed to a full-bodied taxidermy animal, it almost invites the viewer to try it on and feel comforted by its ability to conceal them from the atrocities of the real world; atrocities that course throughout the veins of Tales within Historical Spaces.

Tales within Historical Spaces may be regarded as the result of an artist’s inquiry into how to create a balance between light visuals and dark subtexts. From an initial glance, it is almost hard to believe that such cheerful imagery could be informed by such devastating horror. 

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References:

Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau 2012, viewed 29 September 2012,

<http://en.aushwitz.org/m/index.php?option=com_contexts&task=view&id=740&Itemid=8>.

Miyazaki. H 1988, My Neighbour Totoro, video recording, Madman Japan.

Queensland University of Technology 2012, viewed 29 September 2012,

http://www.artmuseum.qut.edu.au/exhibit/2012/tales_historian_spaces.jsp >.

Boxcopy - She'll Be Right

She’ll Be Right

Clark Beaumont

Boxcopy

She’ll Be Right, which was exhibited at Boxcopy artist-run initiative from 6 to 20 October 2012, demonstrated Clark Beaumont’s ability to take risks, experiment with new media, as well as undertake collaborative processes. The audacious duo, comprised of Nicole Beaumont and Sarah Clark, formed in 2010 at the Queensland University of Technology whilst completing their Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts (Visual Arts) (Meet Clark Beaumont 2012). Through drawing on the idiosyncratic language evident in iconic Australian films, She’ll Be Right has manipulated the cinematic representation of everyday life. The influence of Australian films, including Muriel’s Wedding and The Castle, reflect a notion of Australian identity that is pertinent to the stereotypes of ‘Aussie battler’ and ‘under-dog’. It may be contended that there are Australian people who would not have an affinity with these particular views of identity; which poses the question, what does it mean to be Australian?

Within Boxcopy’s cosy gallery space resides several television screens affixed across three walls. On one screen, the viewer may notice Clark Beaumont sitting under a tree singing Abba’s Fernando, a nod to Muriel’s own Abba-fuelled delusions. Several of the other screens display the duo re-enacting scenes from The Castle, such as Darryl Kerrigan’s speech at the family’s kitchen table. Collectively, each performative video piece is played on a repetitive cycle, however not entirely in unison. It is apparent that some of the dialogue on a couple of the videos ends while other videos are still running; which video starts and finishes first seems almost interchangeable. It is difficult to discern if there is any particular order to the video sequence as a whole.

It may be evident that the notion of Australian Values is intrinsic to the way in which Australian Identity has been defined in films like Muriel’s Wedding and The Castle. Through the implementation of the stereotypes of ‘Aussie battler’ and ‘under-dog’ evident in these films, Clark Beaumont has made links to Australian Values relating to a belief in mateship, and giving another person a fair go (Ahlawat 2012,  p. 65). It could be argued that this particular view on Australian Values is not inclusive of Indigenous people and the quarter of Australia’s population that is born overseas (Ahlawat 2012, p. 64). Education Minister Brendan Nelson reinforced this by stating:

“… if people don’t want to be Australians and they don’t want to live by Australian values and understand them, well basically they can clear off” (Ahlawat 2012, p. 65).

Nelson’s declaration about Australian Values has attempted to justify the continuous political debate on who has what claims on the country, in addition to how these values shape Australian society (Ahlawat 2012, p. 65). Beginning with British settlement in Australia in 1788, government policies have been established that neither encourage fair treatment towards immigrants and Indigenous people, nor adhere to the spirit of mateship. With this in mind, the concept of the ‘Aussie battler’ and the ‘under-dog’ is challenged. Despite any hardships that the typically working class ‘Aussie battler’ may encounter, they continue to persevere through their commitments. Likewise, ‘under-dog’ also refers to an individual dealing with some sort of disadvantage in their life. The White Australia Policy, which emerged during Federation in 1901, was introduced to preserve:

“…the noble idea of a White Australia – a snow white Australia if you will…let it be pure and spotless” (Ahlawat 2012, p. 59).

If there was a scale that measured each Australian individual’s level of disadvantage, The White Australia Policy automatically crowned immigrants and Indigenous people as the absolute ‘under-dogs’; with the flow on effect of being ‘Aussie battlers’ – despite not being recognised as Australian. The ramifications of this guiding principle has created a Pandora’s box effect on governmental policies, as evidenced by John Howard’s endorsement of a cautious approach towards Asian immigration in 1984, as well as Pauline Hanson’s blatantly racist agendas put forth before the electorate in 1996 (Ahlawat 2012, p. 61 – 62). Keyser Trad, head of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia stated that:

“…when John Howard talks about them (Australian Values), they are little more than clichés…they are encouraging racism through national pride…it’s a recipe for a highly polarised society” (Ahlawat 2012, p. 65).  

The relevance and accuracy of an Australian identity being represented by films like Muriel’s Wedding and The Castle is questionable. Although Australia is dominated by Western values, Australia’s geo-strategic proximity to the Asia-pacific region suggests that an understanding of increasing Asian influences is of far more significance than revisiting out-dated stereotypes. As artists, Clark Beaumont have the power to change culture. Although She’ll Be Right demonstrates the artists’ ability to take risks by experimenting with new media, there is arguably no push for cultural change. Viewers, particularly Fine Art students, may feel inspired to ‘one-up’ Clark Beaumont by creating art with more substance.

References

Ahlawat, D 2012, ‘Reinventing Australian Identity’, International Journal of Business and Social Science, vol. 3, no, 11, pp. 59-66, viewed 21 October 2012, via Griffith University database.

Meet Clark Beaumont 2012, viewed 21 October 2012, <http://safari.org.au/meet-clark-beaumont>.