T H E Q U A R T E R LY B R E N D A M AY
G A L L E R Y | 2 Danks Street Waterloo NSW 2017 | brendamaygallery.com.au
WINTER 2015
VOLUME 1
NUMBER 3
BLA CK BOX PROJECTS
CLAIRE ANNA WATSON
SCREEN SURFACE
NICOLE WELCH
Heterochiral Sequence 7 July to 1 August
curated by Geoff Weary 4 to 29 August
Eastern Interiors 1 to 26 September
“In Heterochiral Sequence, plant matter is transposed into an otherworldly environment. This new work investigates the way that food is presented to us; it seeks to subvert the glossy magazines that market comestibles and contemplates how synthetic technologies are influencing our way of life. In this work, the subject itself is given agency; food is a spectacle, animated in an effort to seduce the viewerinto a state of contemplation.” - Claire Anna Watson
“It is easy to fall into old habits of interpretation. This is particularly true of screen-based artworks when they resemble a narrative or documentary film. Invariably the question of meaning becomes associated with content and “form” is of little consequence. The works selected for this exhibition are engaged in a two– way interaction where social, environmental and identity issues are mediated through highly personalised approaches to the treatment of the surface of the projected screen image.” - Geoff Weary
Claire Anna Watson, ‘Heterochiral Sequence’ (detail) 2015, HD Video: 1920 x 1080p, edition of 5
Graham Burchett, ‘Living in the Shadows’ (detail) 2011, HD video, colour, stereo sound, 17:20mins
An antique mirror, a symbol of history and perception, incongruously rests among rocky terrains and native bushland; capturing the shifting light of these uniquely Australian landscapes. Using a time-lapse technique to record areas within the eastern interior of New South Wales, this video work disturbs one’s vision, as at once the scenery is shown as a vast viewpoint and a framed reflection. With this gesture, Welch creates a hybrid image that reveals how historical impressions have informed contemporary understandings of the Australian landscape. Nicole Welch, ‘Eastern Interiors’ (detail) 2015, time-lapse video
7 JULY to 1 AUGUST 2015 ROBERT BOYNES, In Plain Sight “As the title implies, the subject and content in this work is available to us all. It is clear. It is ubiquitous. Just because it is there, it does not mean that we see it. Peripatetic patterns of motion may be unseen or unsighted. By stopping this action or slowing it down, the viewer is invited to become part of the act, remembering glimpses or chance encounters that we would not normally scrutinise. At times there are media images that are seared into our brains and memory so clearly that we become dumb to their existence. These images are all around us. They are in plain sight.” - Robert Boynes Robert Boynes, ‘Autopilot’ 2015, acrylic on canvas - diptych, 61 x 102cm
LEZLIE TILLEY, camouflage 525 Concealment N. concealment camouflage confinement hiding covering up disguise deception masquerade anonymity incognito hidden agenda evasion misinformation subterfuge trickery suppression cover-up duplicity Vb. conceal cover up paper over whitewash blot out bury muffle keep secret give nothing away not utter a syllable make no sign be discreet stay in the shadows draw a veil over make no sign “Tiny pieces of river gravel are arranged according to the laws of chance on a formal grid, expressing a rhythmical pattern that carries a multiplicity of meaning for camouflage when covered by a layer of paint.” - Lezlie Tilley Lezlie Tilley, ‘10,609 tiny stones arranged according to the laws of chance - yellow’ 2015, mixed media on paper, 53 x 53cm
4 to 29 AUGUST 2015 ...a piece of string... curated by Al Munro “...a piece of string... presents the work of Jacqueline Bradley, Kirsty Darlaston, Lucy Irvine, Melinda Le Guay, Jemima Parker, and Al Munro to demonstrate the diversity of artistic possibilities offered by textile-based art media. These are artists who engage with textile forms in order to test the boundaries of art/craft and to work with the specific material and cultural associations of fibre. The exhibition points to the diversity of current textile art practice and alludes to the endless possibilities a single ball of string might provide...” - Al Munro Jacqueline Bradley, ‘Travelling shoes’ (performance still) 2014 found object, brass, paper, cotton, 15 x 18 x 25cm
IRIANNA KANELLOPOULOU, Wanderland “This work captures the adventures and wandering tales of protagonists with a hidden, throwaway past. Released from their captivity, these characters and found objects are given a renewed purpose and claim a re-discovered and re-invented identity. These previous ‘throwaways’ are now the new heroes in a surreal, super reality and blur the line between ambiguity and recognition. Fragments of dialogues are whispered and tales are unravelled. We are allowed only glimpses into this new stage of these merging, independent worlds, as we are never shown the whole story.” - Irianna Kanellopoulou
Irianna Kanellopoulou, ‘To infinity and beyond’ 2015 ceramic, glazes, multifired, 46 x 14 x 5.5cm
1 to 26 SEPTEMBER 2015 JAMES GUPPY, In Flagrante Delicto “Forty years ago I gained an honours degree in economics. While I turned away from that discipline long ago, I can’t help but watch the business of the world through that particular lens. I must say I’m not impressed. Now with the posturing, asset stripping, hostile takeovers, the whole culture of contemporary capitalism is very different. We look to our leaders for models of ethical behaviour. Our expectations are low, yet we are still disappointed, hence the subject matter that pulled me into these paintings. I am first and foremost an artist and as such my principle desire is to create engaging artworks. The visual aesthetic here is not contemporary, nor modern. I want a tension between the ideas and those premodernist notions of beauty.” - James Guppy James Guppy, ‘Negotiated Settlement’ 2015 acrylic on polycotton, timber frame, 120 x 82cm
NICOLE WELCH Eastern Interiors: explorations from Bathurst to Albury “Through the placement of specific historical objects into the landscape and by throwing projections onto the terrain, I aim to illuminate representations of Australia from the past by bringing them into the present. The resulting works are hybridised landscapes that reveal the multiple historical paradigms informing our present-day relationship to country.
Nicole Welch, ‘Frightful Tremendous Pass #2’ 2015 pigment ink, face-mounted and framed, 100 x 100cm
In the Bicentennial year of the settlement of Bathurst and the subsequent opening of the eastern interior of Australia to exploration, I will follow the early pathways journeyed, stopping at significant locations to enact installations in the landscape. An antique mirror and descriptive text taken from journals will reflect and emerge from the terrain, resulting in truly incongruous images that record in real time past and present ideologies.” - Nicole Welch
G A LLERY N EWS James Guppy at Sydney Contemporary and Tweed Regional Gallery In Flagrante Delicto, a new suite of visually arresting paintings by James Guppy, will be presented by Brenda May Gallery over two venues this September. A small selection will be showcased at Australia’s newest international art fair, Sydney Contemporary, from the 10 to 13 September at Carriageworks to coincide with his solo show at 2 Danks Street. In Flagrante Delicto will travel to Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre for an exhibition from 30 September 2016 to 12 February 2017. Director’s Choice: works from the collection, is currently on display at Tweed Regional Gallery, which features a painting by Guppy acquired by the Gallery last year. James Guppy, ‘The Romantic’ 2015, acrylic on polycotton, timber frame, 120 x 82cm
Todd Fuller Commendations Todd Fuller’s film ‘Little Star’, which imagines the poignant tale of the 11th dog sent to space by the Soviet Space Program, won the People’s Choice Award at The Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing and was Highly Commended at the New World Art Prize. In addition, a special edition of the film has been acquired by The PLC Sydney Collection, Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Sydney. Todd Fuller, ‘Untitled (Little Star 6)’ (detail) 2014, charcoal, chalk, acrylic, ink and collage on paper, 57.5 x 66cm, Private collection
B R E N D A M AY
G A L L E R Y
2 D a n k s S t r e e t Wa t e r l o o N S W A u s t r a l i a 2 0 1 7 www.brendamaygallery.com.au info@brendamaygallery.com.au tuesday - friday 11-6 saturday 10-6 t. +61 2 9318 1122
Front Cover: Nicole Welch, ‘Frightful Tremendous Pass #1’ (detail) 2015, pigment ink, face-mounted and framed 100 x 200cm (also available 65 x 130cm)