SUE RYAN | MONGREL
SUE RYAN
MONGREL 17 October - 10 November 2013
MARTIN BROWNE CONTEMPORARY 15 HAMPDEN STREET PADDINGTON NSW 2021 TEL: 02 9331 7997 FAX: 02 9331 7050 info@martinbrownecontemporary.com www.martinbrownecontemporary.com GALLERY HOURS: TUESDAY - SUNDAY 10:30AM - 6PM
© Martin Browne Contemporary © All images copyright Sue Ryan This catalogue is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. COMPILER: Hilary Perrett PHOTOGRAPHY: Michael Marzik and Kim Tucker COLOUR SEPARATIONS: Spitting Image, Sydney PRINTING: Oxygen, Sydney Cover Image: Front to Back: Little Cousin Brother, The Watcher, McIvor’s Dog, Red, Scruffy, 2013, galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, retrieved synthetic rope, fishing line, taxidermy eyes and oil paint, various sizes.
LIST OF WORKS
The Stalker, 2013, galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, fishing line, taxidermy eyes and oil paint, 51 x 125 x 44 cm Alpha Dog, 2013, galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, fishing line, rubber thong teeth and claws, cast resin eyes and oil paint, 75 x 100 x 42 cm Little Mongrel, 2013, galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, fishing line, rubber thong teeth, taxidermy eyes and oil paint, 52 x 60 x 33 cm The Watcher, 2013, galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, fishing line and oil paint, 42 x 80 x 43 cm Red, 2013, galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, retrieved synthetic rope and fishing line, 47 x 51 x 41 cm Picun, 2013, galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, fishing line, rubber thong teeth, taxidermy eye and oil paint, 74 x 75 x 50 cm Scruffy, 2013, galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, retrieved synthetic rope and fishing line, 48 x 71 x 20 cm Little Cousin Brother, 2013, galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, retrieved synthetic rope, fishing line and taxidermy eyes, 39 x 76 x 40 cm Spirit Bitch, 2013, galvanized wire, chicken wire, rubber thong teeth and claw, ghost net, fishing line and oil paint, 62 x 114 x 40 cm McIvor’s Dog, 2013, galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, fishing line, oil paint, 28 x 100 x 35 cm
The ghost net and rope used in Mongrel was retrieved and donated by the Mapoon Land and Sea Rangers, Cape York, QLD
SUE RYAN | MONGREL Artist Sue Ryan’s canine portrayals have a lightness of touch but deserve analysis for the civilized reflection they invite. As metaphors for human bonds with wild, entreating, even maniacal dogs these sculptures are engaging enough; add to this the context of remote communities and the back-story of ghost nets – a movement begun by indigenous conservation rangers removing acres of destructive fish nets washed up on the vast shorelines of Cape York Peninsula and Torres Strait Islands – and they are not easily dismissed. Ryan’s technical facility was formidable, for each dog she wrangled heavy galvanised wire into an elegant sub-stratum to support finer wire mesh which, in turn, was robust enough to take the punishment of thick fishing line wrenched into stitches that fixed an outer layer of retrieved ghost net as dog hair. Beyond any pedestrian feat of repurposing, Ryan’s canine radar for feral runts, tip scroungers and wily, crook companions elevates her project to a meditation on the grim survival strategies of feral creatures and how implicated we are. A seasoned regional artist, Ryan’s sustained commitment is to record the more eccentric but sometimes metaphysical dimensions of tropical life in far north Queensland. Her achievement in Mongrel is to have nailed a raw and real aspect of the term ‘companion animal’, albeit one less recognised in metropolitan settings. She noted, ‘I was talking to rangers and one of them said, “that ghost net is a real mongrel”. I thought it funny he said that when I’d been making dogs, hence the title.’ Amusing and serious, tough and tender, Ryan is an artist with heart and generous talent. Collaboration with indigenous artists and the ghost net movement over the past six years confirmed her commitment to community and cultural development. Now Sue Ryan’s sculptural gift is at the front and centre of Mongrel. Ingrid Hoffmann Director, KickArts Contemporary Arts Cairns
The Stalker, 2013, Galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, fishing line, taxidermy eye and oil paint 51 x 125 x 44 cm
Alpha Dog, 2013 Galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, fishing line, rubber thong teeth and claws, cast resin eyes and oil paint 75 x 100 x 42 cm
Little Mongrel, 2013 Galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, fishing line, rubber thong teeth, taxidermy eyes and oil paint 52 x 60 x 33 cm
The Watcher, 2013 Galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, fishing line and oil paint 42 x 80 x 43 cm
Red, 2013, Galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, retrieved synthetic rope and fishing line 47 x 51 x 41 cm
Picun, 2013 Galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, fishing line, rubber thong teeth, taxidermy eye and oil paint 74 x 75 x 50 cm
Scruffy, 2013 Galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, retrieved synthetic rope and fishing line 48 x 71 x 20 cm
Little Cousin Brother, 2013 Galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, retrieved synthetic rope, fishing line and taxidermy eyes 39 x 76 x 40 cm
Spirit Bitch, 2013 Galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, fishing line, rubber thong teeth and claws and oil paint 62 x 114 x 40 cm
McIvor’s Dog, 2013 Galvanized wire, chicken wire, ghost net, fishing line and oil paint 28 x 100 x 35 cm
SUE RYAN 1965 1986 1990 - 1993 - 95 1998 - 99 2001 - 07 2007 - 08 2008 2009 -
Born in Cairns, QLD Diploma of Fine Art. Qld College of Art, Brisbane Aussie Nomad , Proprietor, Cairns, Atherton Tablelands Facilitator, Certificate of Fine Art, Cairns TAFE College Youth Arts Worker, Nyletta Aboriginal Corporation, Atherton Art Centre Manager, Lockhart River Arts Centre, Cape York Arts Consultant, Pormpuraaw Arts and Culture Centre; Yarrabah Arts and Culture Centre Ghost Net Project, Scoping Study, Arts Qld, Carpentaria Ghost Net Programme and Southern Gulf Catchment Ltd. Art Project Director, GhostNets Australia
SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2011 1995 1992
Tip Dog Diaries, Centre of Contemporary Art, Kick Arts, Cairns, QLD Mythos, Cairns Regional Gallery, Cairns, QLD The Carnival, Hilton Hotel, Cairns, QLD
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2013 2013 2013 2012 2012 2012 2010 2010 2009 2006 2005 2004 2000 1995
MBC at Sydney Contemporary, Carriageworks, Sydney, NSW Mesh, Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts, Townsville, QLD Relative Humidity, Cairns Regional Gallery, Cairns, QLD Sculpture Inside, Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney, NSW GhostNet Collaborations, Cairns Regional Gallery, Cairns, QLD Postcards from the Edge, Cheim & Read, NYC, USA Momentum, Centre for Contemporary Art, Kick Arts, Cairns, QLD Hybridology, Garry Andrews Art Gallery, Gold Coast, QLD Line, KickArts, Centre for Contemporary Art, Cairns, QLD Tanks Printmaking Studio Exhibition, Tanks Art Centre, Cairns, QLD Dugongs of Hinchinbrook, KickArts, Centre of Contemporary Art, Cairns, QLD Hitting On, Kicking Off, KickArts, Centre for Contemporary Art, Cairns, QLD The River, Cairns Regional Gallery, Cairns, QLD; Mildura Regional Gallery, VIC Locate Yourself, KickArts, Cairns, QLD
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS (Continued) 1995 1994 1994 1993 1992 1991 1991 1989 1987 1985 1985 1985
Combust, Qld College of Art, Brisbane, QLD Sue Ryan, Judith Collette and Jan Graeme, Cairns Civic Centre, Cairns, QLD Made in Eden, Tanks Art Centre, Cairns, QLD The Fish John West Regrets, Cairns Regional Gallery, QLD Wheel, Recycled Exhibition, Crackerbox Palace, Cairns, QLD Keep the Rivers Flowing, Rose Blank Gallery, Cairns, QLD Artists In Residence, Lake Street Residency, Cairns, QLD Appropriately After, Arch Lane Public Art, Brisbane, QLD Qld Artists, Diane Stradham, Covent Garden, London Qld College of Art Exhibition, City Hall, Brisbane, QLD Notuvida Jungle, That Contemporary Art Space, Brisbane, QLD Alfred Street Gallery Opening Exhibition, Alfred Street Gallery, Cairns, QLD
WORKSHOPS/ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 2012 2009-12 2011 2010 2009 2008-09 1996-13 1996
Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney, NSW CIAF, Cairns, QLD Floating Land Festival, Sunshine Coast, QLD Mental Health Conference, Public Display & Cultural exchange – Aurukun, Moa Island, Sebel Hotel, Cairns, QLD Weaving Wisdom with Yarrabah artists, Ideas’ Festival, State Library, Brisbane, QLD Experimental Drawing Workshops, Adult Community Education, Atherton, QLD Artist workshops and residencies and cultural collaborations in Aurukun, Pormpuraaw, Yarrabah, Coen, Lockhart River, Thursday Island, Moa Island, Darnley Island, Hammond Island, Mapoon, Mornington Island, Bamaga, Atherton Tablelands, QLD Resident Artist. TANKS Art Centre, Cairns, QLD
COLLECTIONS Cairns Regional Gallery Private Collections in Australia and overseas