LINDE IVIMEY
Reception Saturday 14 September 2024 2:00 - 4:00 PM
NOT EVERYTHING IS AS IT SEEMS
Pantomime has always had the capacity to adapt and move with the times, from its roots in Ancient Greece and the commedia dell’arte in 16th Century Italy, to the Victorian-era music halls that made ‘panto’ the seasonal British ritual that exists today. Eventually some of this tradition arrived in the Antipodes, landing on Australia’s colonial shores. I have vague memories of my childhood and the compulsory 1970’s Christmas holiday pantomime fun – the engagement of children yelling “it’s behind you!”, crossdressing stock characters such as the Lead Boy and the Grand Dame, and especially the Harlequinade – the part of the pantomime devoted to trickery and deception, impish magic, and foolish and ridiculous behaviour. These figures cast spells and played tricks on other characters, often disappearing through stage traps and trick doors. The worst was Pantalone, an important but devious principal character found in commedia dell’arte, who had extraordinary greed and status. His full name was Pantalon de’ Bisognosi, Italian for ‘Pantalone of the Needy’.
Pantomime has always been full of moral ambiguity, but mostly it lampooned the fool and championed the good. I wonder whether our innocent child minds understood the lessons in morality we were being given? Were those stories even really meant to guide us? Now, I can’t help but see a topsy-turvy reflection of contemporary life. Much as the fruit and vegetables that used to be hurled onto the panto stage by disgruntled audiences have stopped being seasonal fare and become a cornucopia we can partake in all year round, the lessons taught through pantomime have morphed into a murky, unfathomable and inescapable daily reality for all of us.
Pantalone isn’t just around at Christmas anymore; he’s everywhere, in and out of his disguises, wearing different costumes. He is a fake and a conman. He is only a phone call away. His is now the voice from almost every call centre advising you of a data breach, an unauthorised payment, an accidental repayment. He is the author of scamming text messages from your bank, from Amazon, from Norton, from a toll company that urgently needs to be paid. He is the accountant behind every bogus invoice in your emails.
He is the snake in the grass, the front and back end of the ass.
He is the stagehand, the illusionist. He is the one who can convince us that salt is actually sugar. He is the online lover who seduces us slowly and completely.
He is whip smart and he is everywhere, and not everything is as it seems.
Linde Ivimey, August 2024
LIST OF WORKS
1. CATFISHED, 2024, steel alloy, acrylic resin, plaster, paper, pearls, bird and fish bones, gold leaf, garnets, rubies and sapphires, 33 x 65 x 21 cm
2. PATRONE, 2023, acrylic resin, synthetic polymers, steel, dyed fabric, woven bird and turkey bones, cast alloy bones, 90 x 45 x 42 cm
3. MATU-MATU, 2024, acrylic resin, wood, dyed cotton and silk, bird bones, 92 x 35 x 25 cm
4. BABY BROWN, 2024, acrylic resin, wood, Czechoslovakian crystal, knitted copper, bird bones, sternocera aequisignata (Jewel beetle wings), carnelians, 25 x 25 x 23 cm
5. BLOW ME, 2024, acrylic resin, dyed acrylic, cotton and silk fibre, teeth, dyed and natural viscera, suede, snakeskin, bird and snake bones, 68 x 30 x 30 cm
6. PROMISE, 2023, acrylic resin, cement, dyed fabric, cast bird bones, black security ties, cast white dice, 95 x 40 x 34 cm
7. PEACE, 2024, acrylic resin, cement, dyed fabric, cast bird bones, white and red security ties, cast white dice, 95 x 40 x 35 cm
8. HOPE, 2024, acrylic resin, cement, fabric, white security ties, cast and natural bird and bovine bones, 95 x 35 x 45 cm
9. COLUMBINE, 2024, acrylic resin, steel, dyed cotton, dyed and natural viscera, bird bones, shark teeth, 75 x 24 x 22cm
10. KALI AND SHIVA, 2023, acrylic resin, steel, fabric, Czechoslovakian crystal, glass, sternocera aequisignata (Jewel beetle wings), found object, natural and acrylic fibre, hair, teeth, fish and coyote bones, 38.5 x 32 x 38 cm
11. BABY 207, 2023, steel helmet, acrylic resin, vinyl, wood, brass, bird bones, teeth, 28 x 24 x 33cm
KING BROWN, 2024, acrylic resin, tin, dyed cotton and silk,
12.
bird bones, gems, 116 x 41 x 19 cm
13. FLY, 2024, acrylic resin, fish and bird bones, synthetic fly wings, smoky quartz, 36 x 17.5 x 18 cm
14. PANTELONE, 2024, acrylic resin, wood, alloy, silk, lashes, racoon penis bone, snake and bird bones, 36 x 17.5 x 18 cm
paper, pearls, bird and fish bones, gold leaf, garnets, rubies and sapphires
PATRONE, 2023
acrylic resin, synthetic polymers, steel, dyed fabric, woven bird and turkey bones, cast alloy bones
BABY BROWN, 2024
acrylic resin, wood, Czechoslovakian crystal, knitted copper, bird bones, sternocera aequisignata (Jewel beetle wings), carnelians
acrylic, cotton and silk fibre, teeth, dyed and natural viscera, suede, snakeskin, bird and snake bones
PROMISE, 2023
acrylic resin, cement, dyed fabric, cast bird bones, black security ties, cast white dice
PEACE, 2024
acrylic resin, cement, dyed fabric, cast bird bones, white and red security ties, cast white dice
95 x 40 x 35 cm
COLUMBINE, 2024
acrylic resin, steel, dyed cotton, dyed and natural viscera, bird bones, shark teeth
75 x 24 x 22cm
KALI AND SHIVA, 2023
acrylic resin, steel, fabric, Czechoslovakian crystal, glass, sternocera aequisignata (Jewel beetle wings), found object, natural and
acrylic fibre, hair, teeth, fish and coyote bones 38.5
BABY 207, 2023 steel helmet, acrylic resin, vinyl, wood, brass, bird bones, teeth
PANTELONE, 2024
acrylic resin, wood, alloy, silk, lashes, racoon penis bone, snake and bird bones
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 NOT EVERYTHING IS AS IT SEEMS, Martin Browne Contemporary
2023 Parvulli + ONE SURVEY, Artists Collective W.A., Perth
2022 Precious Little, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney
2021 HOTA OPENING, Home Of The Arts, Gold Coast, QLD
2021 Dearest Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney
2021 Bonafides, Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane
2019 Women to Winter, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney
2018 Conversations With A Caterpillar, Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane
2017 The Shape Of Things, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney
2015 Cross My Heart Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane
2014 Brave to the Bone, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney
2014 Bone Idol, Michael Reid, Berlin
2013 Survey Exhibition, IF PAIN PERSISTS, Cairns Regional Gallery
2012 Survey Exhibition, IF PAIN PERSISTS, University of Queensland Gallery, Brisbane
2012 Leave no Bone Unturned, Gould Galleries, Melbourne
2012 Set In Bone, Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney
2012 Take Two, Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane
2012 Berlin and London, Michael Reid
2009 Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney
2008 Private Viewing, Darlinghurst Studio, Sydney
2007 New Works, Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney
2006 Only the Memory, Gould Galleries, Melbourne
2006 Old Souls ~ New Work Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney
2003 Close to the Bone, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Old Stories New Magic, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, NSW
2022 Interconnected New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale, NSW
2021 SAVOUR, Bundaberg Regional Gallery, QLD
2020 TERRA AUSTRALIS, Galerie Ernst Hilger, Vienna, Austria
2019 PENUMBRA, Olsen Gruin, New York, USA
2019 LOVE, Tweed Regional Gallery
2018 So Fine, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
2018 Romancing the Skull, Ballarat Regional Gallery, VIC
2018 Melbourme and Sydney Contemporary Art Fairs, NSW and VIC
2018 Auckland Art Fair, New Zealand
2018 RIGG Design Award, Scott Weston, National Gallery Of Victoria
2017 The Gift-Australian Migration Museum of Australian Democracy, Canberra
2017 Dog Days Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane
2017 Apologies To Road Kill, GYRACC, Katherine, Northern Territory
2016 Ceremonial, Craft Victoria, Melbourne
2016 1883, Melbourne Victoria
2016 HIDDEN, Rookwood Cemetery
2016 I Prefer Life, Weserburg Museum of Modern Art, Bremen Germany
2016 We Are Here, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2016 Auckland Art Fair, Martin Browne Fine Art, Auckland, New Zealand
2015 Discerning Judgment, Supreme Court Library Queensland, Brisbane
2015 Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, Martin Browne Contemporary, Carriage Works
2013 Sculpture@Bathers Beach, Kidogo House, Fremantle, WA
AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES
Creative Design Award, City of Perth & Challenge Bank
Gomboc Sculpture Award, Perth
Design Award, AIDS Council of WA
Friends of Dorothy Award for Sculpture, Perth
Outstanding Achievement, Channel 10 Young Achievers Award
Inaugural State Energy Commission of WA and Fremantle City
Art Award
COLLECTIONS
Design & Media
Holmes à Court Collection
Hugo Collection
Keating Collection
Liz and Lloyd Horn Collection
Martin and Kate Green Collection
National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Victoria
Newcastle City Art Gallery
Penelope Seidler Collection
Private Collections (Australian & International)
Reydan Weisse Collection
Rockhampton, Newcastle and Gold Coast Regional
The Blanchett - Upton Family collection
The Lowenstein Collection
The Mordant family Collection
The Wennam Family Collection
Throsby private Collection
UQAM
Waneroo City Council
Western Australian School of Art, Galleries