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AN ESSAY By Prue Gibson
Yeldham’s work is a mapping of multiple realities. It charts the artist’s travels among the mangroves, the disused oyster leases and along the salty foreshores near Pittwater. Yeldham’s cartography moves within this world and without. He is not limited by the materiality of reaching tree limbs or the muddy matter of swamps. His paintings and photographic works move beyond the human-perceived environment. Instead, he deliberates on the fragile spaces in between, the liminal places in his heart and mind where imagination soars and intellect sings. He says, ‘the space between two lines is what connects us.’ Yeldham has been preoccupied, for many years, with the intersection of cultures. India, Malaysia, Indonesia, indigenous Australia; his influences have been a ‘world music’ version of art aesthetics. This is true in a literal sense too, as he has often incorporated musical instruments into his large scale paintings. This recent body of work was created to the accompaniment of Indian tabla music; moving in the studio along with its rhythms and syncopations. His strength and freedom is his rejection of intellectual trends. He is more interested in spiritedness, in vital vibrations, of meridian lines within the human form and across the longitudes of the globe, and incorporating these primitive delineations into an expanded experience of nature. If fertility has been a thematic in the past, the artist’s sense of self as an entity, which forms part of greater entities, is now an absorption. Yeldham works as spiritual journeyman. He swoops, like his constant daemonspirit or guardian owl, across these paintings which have been carved and caned, indigo-incised and marked, in time with his heart beat, in tempo with his private prayers. As journeyman, Yeldham, ‘can’t help but weave stories, making maps in an attempt not to get lost.’ Yeldham’s differentiation is his skillful artisanship. He uses sanders, carving tools, knives: line work in indigo, scored with calligraphic elegance, and then he applies and rubs back the oil paint. Sometimes he adds shells, instruments, the skeletal remains of Japanese fans. This requires fine workmanship, consistent and detailed precision. As Yeldham says, ‘By eating into the wood, I create new stories. There is decay and new life. This is a deeper form of navigation.’
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In a new conceptual turn, Yeldham has elaborated on his deep and instinctual fascination with the partly submerged trees near his home. Like the Surrender trees which feature in his new work, he spreads his limbs in search of light and stability. His interest in his local environment is one of discovery and of the unexpected. These are rituals of exploration, sensual and tactile. The isolated ecologies he finds during his boat trips up the Hawkesbury reveal the vulnerability of the land and the artist’s own battles with fearful dreams and darker mysteries. The new work is manifested through photography. On thick paper, heavier than canvas, he hand-prints photos taken from his mobile phone. Then he casts a shadow of colour and begins his particular method of carving. The result is an investigation into light. Where the paper is carved, the light is iridescent. There is a glowing intensity to these photo-media works. They are spirited by the carving, animated by the revealing method of cutting into what is familiar and allowing it to become strange and uncanny. Whether an elephant-head rocky outcrop, a submerged double male/female tree of loping limbs or his own son pointing towards infinity, with an empowering matador jacket across his innocent shoulders, these works are confounding. They emanate fresh energy. When Yeldham cuts back into the image, he scars the scene, a devotional methodology, a tattooing of clan-like belonging. This can be interpreted as a means of connecting and merging with the landscapes he so loves and relies upon for his strength and courage. There is an unearthly quality to these monochromatic works. Cosmic awareness and spiritual wonder: these are ethereal and shadowy scenes which suggest all that we do not comprehend. Each carving into the photographic paper opens up to a shaft of white light and suggest ghosts of the past and presences from the future. They confer a celebratory atmosphere, an inclination towards thanksgiving. Across each tree limb and across the still water of the river, Yeldham leaves a spectral trail. This perhaps represents an acceptance of mortality and a joyful praise for the vitality of present life.
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DIRECTOR’S FOREWORD
The Cat Street Gallery is excited and honored to welcome back the gallery favorite, Joshua Yeldham for his second solo show in Hong Kong. Yeldham’s work is a mapping of multiple realities . It charts the artist’s travels among the mangroves, the disused oyster leases and along the salty foreshores near Pittwater. Yeldham’s cartography moves within this world and without. He is not limited by the materiality of reaching tree limbs or the muddy matter of swamps. His paintings and photographic works move beyond the human-perceived environment. Instead, he deliberates on the fragile spaces in between, the liminal places in his heart and mind where imagination soars and intellect sings. He says, ‘the space between two lines is what connects us.’ Yeldham’s canvasses are extraordinary tapestries, brimming with exquisite detail. The owl is a recurring image in his work and has come to act as a metaphor for the artist, playing a distinct role in Yeldham’s unique visual language. The new carved photography work is an investigation into light, they are spirited by the carving, animated by the revealing method of cutting into what is familiar and allowing it to become strange and uncanny. Yeldham has exhibited widely in Australia and had been a finalist for the Archibald Prize, along with Wynne, Mosman and Sulman art prizes. His work is also held in several public and corporate collections including the Australia Club Collection, Australian Stock Exchange, BHP Biliton Collection and the University of Wollongong Library.
Mandy d’Abo Founder and Director The Cat Street Gallery
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8 222 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong / T + 852 2291 0006 / www.thecatstreetgallery.com
CONTENTS
Page 4
Essay - Prue Gibson
Page 29
Pinta Bay - Hawkesbury River
Page 7
Director’s Foreword
Page 30
Blue Gum - Yeoman’s Bay
Page 10
Spinafex Owl - Morning Bay
Page 31
Black Rock - Yeoman’s Bay
Page 11
Navigation Owl - Yeoman’s Bay
Page 32
White Spring - Yeoman’s Bay
Page 12
Lord Howe Owl
Page 33
Little Owl Of Yeoman’s Bay
Page 13
Seeker Owl - Yeoman’s Bay
Page 34
Fertility Rock - Yeoman’s Bay
Page 14
Owl Of The Colo Moon
Page 35
View From The Tinny - Yeoman’s Bay
Page 15
Veda Owl
Page 36
Little Rishi - Yeoman’s Bay
Page 16
Owl Of Tranquility N:1/9
Page 37
Wild Bird Rock - Yeoman’s Bay
Page 20
Forgiveness - Smith’s Creek N:2
Page 38
Owl Of The Blue Voyage
Page 21
Rishi - Smith’s Creek N:1/9
Page 39
Night Diamond Owl Hawkesbury River
Page 22
Sway - Mud Island N:3/9
Page 40
Suurya
Page 23
Surrender Tree - Morning Bay N:3/9
Page 42
White Owl N:9/20
Page 25
Surrender - Colo River N:2/9
Page 43
Red Wood Owl - Colo River
Page 26
Fertility Tree - Morning Bay N:1/9
Page 44
Owl Of The Colo Moon
Page 27
Troubadour - Morning Bay N:2
Page 46
Joshua Yeldham - Curriculum Vitae
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Spinafex Owl - Morning Bay
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Oil, cane, shells, resin and bronze bells on carved board 153 x 204 cm 2013/14
HKD 505,000
Navigation Owl - Yeoman’s Bay Oil on carved board 204 x 153 cm 2013/14
HKD 500,000
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Lord Howe Owl
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Oil and cane on carved board 76 x 102 cm 2013/14
HKD 180,000
Seeker Owl - Yeoman’s Bay Oil on carved board 76 x 102 cm 2013/14
HKD 180,000
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Owl Of The Colo Moon
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Carved paper with shellac 104 x 120 cm 2013/14
HKD 128,000
Veda Owl Carved paper with shellac 104 x 120 cm 2013/14
HKD 120,000
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Owl Of Tranquility N:1/9
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Unique carved pigment print on cotton paper 160 x 150 cm 2013/14
HKD 140,000
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Forgiveness - Smith’s Creek N:2
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Unique carved pigment print on cotton paper 150 x 160 cm 2013/14
HKD 120,000
Rishi - Smith’s Creek N:1/9 Unique carved pigment print on cotton paper 145 x 154 cm 2013/14
HKD 120,000
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Sway - Mud Island N:3/9
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Unique carved pigment print on cotton paper 160 x 150 cm 2013/14
HKD 120,000
Surrender Tree - Morning Bay N:3/9 Unique carved pigment print on cotton paper 160 x 150 cm 2013/14
HKD 120,000
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Surrender - Colo River N:2/9 Unique carved pigment print on cotton paper 145 x 154 cm 2013/14
HKD 120,000
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Fertility Tree - Morning Bay N:1/9
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Unique carved pigment print on cotton paper 150 x 160 cm 2013/14
HKD 120,000
Troubadour - Morning Bay N:2 Unique carved pigment print on cotton paper 150 x 160 cm 2013/14
HKD 120,000
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Pinta Bay - Hawkesbury River Carved paper with shellac 120 x 104 cm 2013/14
HKD 120,000
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Blue Gum - Yeoman’s Bay
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Carved paper with shellac 81 x 123 cm 2013/14
HKD 100,000
Black Rock - Yeoman’s Bay Carved paper with shellac 123 x 81 cm 2013/14
HKD 100,000
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White Spring - Yeoman’s Bay
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Oil on carved board 77 x 77 cm 2013/14
HKD 100,000
Little Owl Of Yeoman’s Bay Ink on carved board 46 x 61 cm 2013/14
HKD 68,000
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Fertility Rock - Yeoman’s Bay
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Shellac on carved board 43 x 43 cm 2013/14
HKD 68,000
View From The Tinny - Yeoman’s Bay Shellac on carved board 48 x 48 cm 2013/14
HKD 68,000
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Little Rishi - Yeoman’s Bay
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Resin sculpture, cane, copper and oil on carved board 44 x 44 cm 2013/14
HKD 68,000
Wild Bird Rock - Yeoman’s Bay Shellac on carved board 43 x 43 cm 2013/14
HKD 68,000
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Owl Of The Blue Voyage
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Mixed media on french paper 55 x 70 cm 2013/14
HKD 68,000
Night Diamond Owl Hawkesbury River Carved paper with shellac 57 x 76 cm 2013/14
HKD 48,000
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Suurya
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Ink and oil on carved board 25 x 32 cm 2013/14
HKD 35,000
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White Owl N:9/20
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Carved resin with cane and wire 30 x 30 x 55 cm 2013/14
HKD 135,000
Red Wood Owl - Colo River Carved cedar with cane and oil 42 x 4 x 85 cm 2013/14
HKD 135,000
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Owl Of The Colo Moon
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Archival pigment print on cotton paper 86 x 100 cm 2013/14, Editions of 25
HKD 26,000 (framed) / HKD 23,000 (unframed)
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Education 1993
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design
2000 Art House Gallery, Biennial Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne.
Group Exhibitions
1999
An Affair to Remember, Art Sauce, Singapore
2013
Archibald Prize, Mornington Peninsula Gallery, Victoria Archibald Prize, Goulburn Regional Gallery, NSW Archibald Prize, Bathurst Regional Gallery, NSW Archibald Prize, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery, NSW Archibald Prize, Glasshouse Gallery, Queensland Archibald Prize, Tamworth Regional, NSW Archibald Prize, Albury Regional Gallery, NSW Archibald Prize, Shoalhaven Ciry Arts Centre, NSW Archibald Prize, Art Gallery Of New South Wales Wynne Prize, Art Gallery Of New South Wales Wonder Works, The Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong
1998
Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales
2012
Wynne Prize Finalist, Art Gallery Of New South Wales
2011 Wynne Prize Finalist, Art Gallery Of New South Wales Wattle, Australian Artists, The Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong 30 To Collect, Brisbane Flood Releif, Art House Gallery, Sydney 2010
ART HK 11, The Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong Salon des Refuses, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney Salon des Refuses, Tweed River Art Gallery, NSW Zoo Air, Taronga Zoo Artists in Residence Plein Air, University of Newcastle, NSW
2009
1997 A Taste in Art: Next Generation of Great Australian Artists, Sotheby’s Sydney Zoo, Art House Gallery, Sydney Westpac Art Awards, Skeggs Redlands, Sydney Tattersall’s Landscape Art Awards, Brisbane, Queensland 1996 Australian Artists Exhibition, Cranbrook School, Sydney Teresa Burns Exhibition of Australian Artists, Westpac, Sydney
Solo Exhibitions 2013
Surrender Tree, Art House Gallery, Sydney
2012 The Tongue Has No Bone, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne 2011
Two Rivers, Hawkesbury River - Yulong River, The Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales “In Paradise” Artists of the Northern Beaches, Manly Art Gallery & Museum, NSW
2010
River Song, Art House Gallery, Sydney River Music, Scott Livesey Gallery, Melbourne
2008
Group Show, Scott Livisey Galleries, Melbourne, VIC
2009
Child Of The Moon, Hawkesbury River, Scott Livesey Gallery, Melbourne
2006
Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales “Flaming Youth”, Orange Regional Gallery, NSW
2005
Selected, Mosman Art Prize, New South Wales.
2003
Biennialle Sydney Art on Paper Fair, Sydney Selected, Mosman Art Prize, New South Wales “Ned Kelly Framed”, The National Trust of Australia, S. H. Ervin Gallery
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2008 Hawkesbury River, Motherland, Art House Gallery, Sydney 2007
Hawkesbury River – Death Bird Series, Scott Livesey Gallery, Melbourne
2006 Hawkesbury River, Melbourne Art Fair, Art House Gallery Hawkesbury River, Art House Gallery, Sydney
2005
Bird Nest Diaries, Scott Livesey Gallery, Melbourne
2002
Universities and Schools Club Prize, Sydney
2004
Bird Nest Diaries, Art House Gallery, Sydney
2000
Australian Stock Exchange Commission, Sydney
2003
The Clay Brothers - A Prayer for Fertility, Scott Livesey Gallery, Melbourne A Prayer for Fertility, Sydney Art Fair, Fox Studios
1998
Sulman Prize, Finalist, Art Gallery of New South Wales
1995
Australian Young Achiever Awards, New South Wales State Finalist, Career Achievement Award (Arts Division) The Queen’s Trust Award The Queen’s Trust Award Alumni award for outstanding achievement, Rhode Island School of Design, USA
2002 Solitude’s Bride Series, Art House Gallery, Sydney Solitude’s Bride Series, Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne 2001
Eucalyptus, Art House Gallery, Sydney
1993
1999
Colo River, Art House Gallery, Melbourne Solitude & Prayer, Art House Gallery, Sydney
Collections
1998
Paradise is a Bird, Art House Gallery, Melbourne Paradise is a Bird, Art House Gallery, Sydney
1997
The Hunger Artist, Art House Gallery, Sydney
The Australia Club Art Collection Mosman Art Gallery Manly Art Gallery & Museum, NSW
1996 Viola and the Emu Catcher, Art House Gallery, Sydney
Awards & Achievements
University of Wollongong Australian Stock Exchange BHP Biliton Collection
2013
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales
2012
Wynne Prize, finalist, Art Gallery of New South Wales
Hawkesbury River Regional Gallery (on loan)
2011
Wynne Prize, finalist, Art Gallery of New South Wales
Autore Pearl Collection ACP Collection
2010
Salon des Refuses, Finalist, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2009
Wynne Prize, Finalist, Art Gallery of New South Wales
2006
Sulman Prize, Finalist, Art Gallery of New South Wales
2005
Mosman Art Prize, Finaliast, New South Wales
2003
Mosman Art Prize, Finalist, New South Wales
Mirvac Collection
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The Cat Street Gallery 48
222 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong / T + 852 2291 0006 / www.thecatstreetgallery.com