UNSW Art & Design Master of Art Semester 1, 2017 Consolidated Studio www.artdesign.unsw.edu.au www.instagram.com/off_site_exhibition
OFF SITE GAFFA GALLERY SYDNEY 8–19 JUNE 2017 An exhibition by UNSW Art & Design, Master of Art students.
The works in OFF SITE not only encapsulate the overarching aims
It is with equal measures of pride and anticipation that we present
of the course but more importantly conceptualise the notion of
OFF SITE, a group exhibition showcasing the diverse studio-based practices of the students of the Consolidated Studio course, at Gaffa Gallery in Sydney. The Consolidated Studio is a core subject within the Master of Art program at UNSW Art & Design which is designed to develop trans-disciplinary modes of visual authorship and their relationship to the expanded field of contemporary creative expression. It supports the development of practice-based research and provides an opportunity for students to consolidate their practical and conceptual skills through the production of a resolved body of work. This in itself is a rigorous undertaking, however, the students are required to do this in the context of a group exhibition within a twelve-week period. This exerts considerable pressure on the students individually, but as a whole, combines to extend their potential within a group related dynamic. This was especially evident in the way that the group coalesced to achieve the multifarious demands required of them in this course. Meeting deadlines, liaising with gallery staff, documenting artworks and group communication are all integral to the success of an exhibition and all this occurred whilst undertaking individual studio experimentation. It was pleasing to witness peers working together to share their experience and skills to arrive at a common goal.
‘practice’ as a place where artists challenge themselves to move beyond the known. By allowing themselves the space to play and take risks, and to push the boundaries of their respective practices both materially and conceptually, they arrived ‘off-site’ at a place reflective of this transformative process. On behalf of the students I would like to thank: the staff at Gaffa Gallery for their continued support; Richard Crampton from Darkstar Digital; our sponsor Young Henrys; course convenor Allan Giddy for his guidance; our photographers Barnaby Miles and Julian Wolkenstein for their generous assistance with the photography and special thank you to Donna Gough for her expertise in the design and compilation of this catalogue. Finally, I would like to congratulate this talented and committed group of emerging artists and commend them for the professionalism with which they conducted themselves throughout this experience. Michelle Cawthorn, sessional lecturer UNSW Art & Design, Sydney May 2017
JO REGAN Jo Regan explores the ontology of abstraction particularly in
Secondly and more ubiquitously, is the resonance Jo has
painting and in relation to its historical context. Her starting point
with paint alongside the sensorial experience that non-
is to eliminate representation and narrative and investigate the
representation has on herself as a practitioner and also
spatial characteristics remaining. This remaining space exists in
the observer.
relation not only to how Jo thinks about her ensuing work, but also
It is important that this combination of the sensorial
the restrictions imposed by the history of abstract painting. This coupled with the materiality of paint, serve as precursors to explore the possibilities of abstraction in a contemporary artistic context. Jo Regan’s work Portal investigates firstly, a formalistic premise
experience, materiality and historical ties, neither be rationalised nor allocated hierarchy. This premise forges a developmental space where visual art can supervene and an outcome like Portal can derive.
that ‘paint doesn’t have to be painted’ and ‘paint doesn’t need a substrate’. Portal Acrylic paint, wood and metal 92 x 76 cm
BARNABY MILES Barnaby Miles’ work is situated within the broader context of identity and the relationship between society and gender. He examines codes of behaviour and queries socially conditioned characteristics of masculinity and their impact on the individual. In Play the Game, Miles presents a multi-layered installation that encompasses both photography and sculpture. The work examines the adoption of barriers and masks used to conceal identities within the framework and social expectation of what it means to be male. Miles often works with materials associated as masculine identifiers and in Play the Game, he references the colour of hi-visibility safety clothing: fluorescent orange. Ubiquitous as the colour of the working man, this orange represents detectability, clarity and visibility. Ironically, its prevalence and popularity as a uniform, conversely suggests a homogeneity, a standardisation which might be perceived as a camouflage. Be seen but be inconspicuous. The components of the work exist in unison, an enigmatic combination of visual experiences that combine to produce a larger thematic work. Miles’ background in fashion photography combines with his interest in minimalism and non-representational photography, which together influence his emerging art practice.
Play The Game Archival inkjet print, plaster board, enamel paint 90Â x 60 cm
JULIAN WOLKENSTEIN Julian Wolkenstein draws inspiration from a range of divergent
In Lull a figure floats in an open sea. He is a literal vessel.
interests and abilities that overlap in the consideration of the
Conversely, that ocean and the sky surround him. Waves distort the
ongoing role and efforts of human mediation, of both the material
mirrored effect. Small swimming strokes suggest a docile manner.
world and that of the ethereal. Underpinning this is an effort to keep
Is this figure content, free to float around or has he given up and
in mind a position of the playful and the poetic.
is adrift? The latter, it seems. Abandoning ship, he jettisons in a
Not entirely narrative, Wolkenstein builds a world to inhabit.
lifeboat, only to be further adrift.
Working between photographic representation (Photogrammetry) and the virtual, namely animation, evokes a surreal uneasiness in a rich pictorial space, resulting in a clunky unstableness. Do we fathom this virtual world any more than the real world, or does this control offer some security for the future? Lull Video installation Dimensions variable
JAC FONT Central to Jac Font’s practice are the concepts of edge and boundary, including the skin itself as the border between internal reflection and external influences. Focusing on the softness of human flesh and emotion, Font draws attention to the individual’s fragile defence when faced with the structured inflexibility of systems that are artificially created by societies. Font’s work contains ambiguous representations of gender identity, closely exploring her personal response to the traps of societal expectations in term of roles, purposes and desires. Fluid notions of masculine and feminine behaviour and responsibility that are suggested in her work seek to loosen the stereotypes that bind individuals, searching for freedom of contemplation and expression. The skin of Font’s creatures is often mottled or not of natural colour and the possibility of its penetration arises as a source of appeal and also horror. The surface of her figures, not entirely intact, represents the breakable body itself and the vulnerability of the individual to deformity and destruction, hinting at violent histories. In Unravelling, borders have been crossed and the distinction between inside and outside has become unclear. Font’s use of wire is a material reference to cages, fences, barriers, and confinement, and in this work the wire has been treated with both traditional and freeform lacemaking techniques that bring undervalued feminine stories and activities into the conversation about who is in control of the boundaries.
Unravelling Enamelled copper wire lace 52 x 160 cm
TIM KELLY Ephemera: Things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time. “There were papers, letters, old boxes—all sorts of ephemera”
permanent visual images that reflect the split second nature of their original short commercial life.
French poet Leo Malet observed in the mid 1930s that street posters were transformed by the actions of neglect, weather and human intervention and the resulting images he called a new form of Surrealist street poetry “shaped by chance”. *
In Kelly’s hands decollage is a serendipitous process. What lies in the many layers below the first poster is unknown and much of it will never be known because the decisions Kelly makes about cutting and tearing and gouging are random. Depending on how the original poster pasting was carried out; with haphazardly unglued areas, or carefully so that one poster adheres completely to the next, will determine which images may appear when Kelly cuts into the surface of the poster accumulations.
Urban communities are exposed to street posters continuously. And the posters they see are changed almost every day. Over time, a week or two, 10 or more different posters are pasted over the top of the last advertisement. Weather has little impact on the physical state of the posters but the occasional indignant human will add to the mix by tearing and ripping. This accumulation of images is the source material for Tim Kelly’s work. He collects these ephemeral poster accumulations and processes them, through techniques of collage and decollage, into
* “Surface Wreckage”, essay by Rick Poynor, EYE magazine 1999 Next to the art shop, Oxford Street Printed paper, shellac and printers ink 85 x 120 cm
ISIDORA VUCETA Isidora Vuceta is a Sydney-based artist whose works utilize
through onto the plate the potted plant was sitting on. However, the
screen printing, photography and collages informed by the
naturally watered plant Bill, absorbed almost all of the entire natural
‘Fashion Industry’. Vuceta has tackled the industry’s impact on the
dye liquid during the duration of the experiment.
environment within her practice.
The impact that humans have on the environment is as large and
In her work Bill and Ben, she examines the outcome of watering
mutually shared as the environment’s impact on humans. Vuceta is
two plants; one with a chemical synthetic dye and the other with a
determined to find a better solution in repairing the human impact
natural dye. Through this process she has mimicked the disposal
on the environment and to promote and create awareness towards
of dyes that are used in the textile industry, in representing their
sustainable fashion in the future.
impact on the environment after being discarded. Though no clear visible progress has been shown in the two plants after comparison, the synthetically watered plant Ben, has reacted in absorbing less liquid and allowing most of the synthetic substance to go straight
Bill and Ben Ficus Benjamina Dimensions variable
GAGA ZHENG Visual memory is a significant feature in many of my hand-made
During the process of making Ablaze, I intend to explore the
projects. My primary focus with Ablaze is to explore its emotional
relationships between color, volume, and proportion. Notes on color
nature and personal memory. Color and shape are qualities that
consists of 50 colored non-fabric, which play and experiment with
excite my visual sensibility. It is through color and form that I share
color and form.
memory and feeling.
Color has the power to expand ideas and space. The cube is the
During my research for Ablaze, I became familiar with Josef Albers’
form I selected to carry my ideas. I focused on the use of the clear
color theories which exposed me to new ways of thinking about
glue — this material with both liquid and solid states. The precise
color, inspiring the development of my own color panel. Throughout
mixing processes of the clear glue present a sense of strangeness
this process of researching, thinking about color and making color
in the work which is in the process of being shaped and also stops
panels, I realized working two-dimensionally limited what I wanted
at the end of the form.
to do with color. This discovery motivated me to transfer my color groups into three-dimensional objects. Ablaze Pigments and clear glue Dimensions variable
TIMBA BRIDGE This work evolved after a period of being in an altered state; it arose from a feeling of being under heavy weather. It questions grief and identity and is an attempt to transform distress and anguish into something poetic, transcendent, shimmering and beautiful. This deluge of rain is both an expression of one person’s microcosm and the macrocosm regarding the planet today: a mixture of heavy weather and beauty. The life raft is escaping the shipwreck of grief; it speaks of hope and heralds survival as it floats off into an uncertain future. The raft is also an expression of potential; both a suggestion of man supporting nature and of nature supporting man, although the raft holds only moss. This ancient, simple plant which predated us, will probably out-survive us too. What sort of rain is this? To where is the raft escaping? The raft is heading off site, floating out into space.
Heavy Weather Hessian, paper, twine, plastic, moss 240 x 170 x 80 cm
VANESSA MARTINEZ Vanessa Martinez focuses on feminist issues in her art practice
Women who aim to dismantle the patriarchy experience the same
manifested through a variety of media including video, drawing,
insults repeatedly. They are “fat hairy lesbian feminazis who are just
painting, embroidery, and installation. Martinez is drawn to
in need of a good root”.
exploring feminism in her work through her observations as a
The reality is these words are only effective forms of degradation
woman living in today’s white hetero-patriarchy.
because of the patriarchy. For women who defy the patriarchy these
The (Sarcastic) Feminist’s Comforter 1 was made using a
insults become meaningless. Martinez’s work aims to subvert the
combination of digital collage, print transfer, embroidery and
intent of the words. Embroidery, a task traditionally undertaken by
patchwork. This piece was influenced by the work of artists Lisa
women, passive and docile in nature, is transformed into an active
McCleary and Casey Jenkins who explore social media and the
medium that works to dismantle misogyny. Martinez takes the
female body using embroidery and knitting techniques respectively.
words made to demoralise her and transforms them into a work
Conceptually, this work is informed by the book Fight Like A Girl by
that does not conform to society’s idea of femininity.
Clementine Ford, specifically chapter 11, “Dicktionary”. Martinez has made this work as a reaction to the vicious vitriol
The (Sarcastic) Feminist’s Comforter 1
women receive online, particularly on social media, for voicing their
Embroidery thread, calico, cushion cover, inner cushion
opinions and not adhering to patriarchal expectations of femininity.
50 x 50 cm
AMANDA LIM “Into the same rivers we step and do not step.” — Heraclitus Becoming emerges from an exploration of the materiality of glass. I am attracted to the plastic nature of glass—the way it melts like honey; the way it responds to gravity and heat. I find that this material resonates with the inner movements of my being, where my thoughts, moods and emotions are constantly in flux. Similarly, heated glass undergoes a transitional phase where it is both solid and liquid, yet neither one nor the other. This paradoxical nature of glass, mirrors the often conflicting desires and emotions of human experience. We can be both fearful and courageous, strong yet vulnerable; feel attracted and repulsed at the same time. As complex human beings living in a fast-paced urban environment, we learn to grapple with hyper-connectivity, constant noise and busyness. We are full of desires but not enough time to fulfil them. We prize convenience, efficiency and productivity over long-term effects on ourselves and the natural environment. Family and friends are only ‘a click away’ but we remain one step removed. Beneath the facades of modernity, are we really alive, or are we dying inside?
Becoming Discarded glass bottles, wire Dimensions variable
ALISON DUFF We all define our place differently.
Duff’s definition of place embraces the notions of security, comfort
For most people it’s defined by a dwelling or where a connection
and refuge, associating these feelings with her memories of
is felt with the surrounding environment. Its physical features can
parental nurturing and care.
affect our lives in myriad ways; behaviourally, emotionally and
In Enfold, Duff has worked the kelp into three forms, each
spiritually.
reminiscent of meaningful objects. The first is the original light
Reflecting on her place, Alison Duff has created three structures
fitting from her old boathouse that Duff has cocooned in kelp.
that embody the places where she is at home: Yowie Bay, Pittwater and Minnamurra. Influenced by Boltanski and Keiffer’s use of found matter of natural and historical significance, and furthering her interest in researching material possibilities, Duff investigates the properties of kelp, a material common to all three places. She explores various methods of working with kelp and creates works that transform it to reveal its beauty and fascinating shapes.
The second form takes the spiral shape of a Port Jackson Shark’s egg, while the third shape references the netting on site as well as the “seaweed” shawl her mother made for her in 1970. All three forms encompass the spiral as an intentional reference to an embrace. The divergent features of kelp’s fragility and resilience are accentuated by the use of subtle lighting. Enfold Kelp, wood, LED lights, wire, metal and glass light fitting Dimensions variable
CAMERON SIMPSON Cameron Simpson’s artistic practice explores the interaction between the ruthless mathematical logic of a computer, the intuitive thought of a human, as well as the personal and social ramifications of our increasingly digital selves. Simpson seeks to understand the relationship of artistic practice to technological advancement as well as exploring information interpretation (and misinterpretation) between man and machine. This leads to questioning of the important role of the Artist’s critical eye in recognising artistic resolution. Cartographic Hindsight investigates the interpretation of personal data by collecting all the artist’s personal location tracking data recorded over the past five years and then rendering it all simultaneously in a visual medium. Taking the form of a retina scan, the personal tracking data takes on the look of veins in the eye, exploring the idea of being watched and tracked by machines. Every aspect of our lives are tracked and recorded, analysed and inferred, but not for our direct benefit. Simpson’s work asks if we can reclaim this information and use it to our own advantage. What can we learn from looking objectively at our own lives through all this data? What patterns and habits would be revealed to ourselves? What is this data ‘like’, what are its tangible properties?
Cartographic Hindsight Digital print 40 x 40 cm
SALOME YUK LAN LI Salome Yuk Lan Li, is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice
Li feels the deep sense of well-being and peacefulness she
encompasses drawing, painting, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese ink
experienced while creating this work, is integrated into the work
painting, print making, sculpture, photography, installation and
itself.
performance art.
She has chosen the butterfly as a theme throughout Happiness as it
Li is inspired by Aristotle’s observation that: “Happiness is the
is a symbol of happiness in Chinese culture. Why paint in black and
meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and the end of human
white rather than in colour? Black absorbs all colours so it contains
existence.” The title of her work is taken from this.
rainbows, while white is plain but is rich in all the colours that it
Li has drawn on her strong Chinese calligraphy background to paint
reflects.
butterflies in black ink. Chinese calligraphy requires mindfulness and is like meditation in action.
Happiness Ink on fabric Dimensions variable
BENIC XI The Internet has undoubtedly become an indispensable part of human life in today’s society. As we have access to the huge amount of information online easily, more and more people nowadays start to pay attention to sensitive topics such as “political freedom” and “human rights”. But what is this phenomenon doing to those non-democratic countries? Or even in Western society? As a Chinese photographer who has lived in Australia for the last seven years, Mengjie (Benic) Xi is interested in this topic — how has technology changed the reality of photography, and what is the relationship between this art form and politics? The title of Xi’s latest creation Sorry, The Title Cannot Be Displayed, is inspired by the “error page”. This is a group of ironic photographic works, which expresses her dissatisfaction with the Chinese government’s crackdown on Internet freedom, and also her desire for a free flow of information. Xi chooses resources from daily life, takes photography as her primary expressive form, combined with digital editing, to create these seemingly random but well-designed “screenshots”. With the press releases from both Chinese and foreign websites (characters in different colours), Xi uses this obscure but profound way to show us how China’s censorship works and how the government uses mass media to deceive the public, calling us to think about what is true and false and the real meaning behind.
Sorry, The Title Cannot Be Displayed Digital prints on paper Dimensions variable
MEGAN BELKNAP “I have always been amazed at the way an ordinary observer lends
Prior to the discovery of REM sleep in the 1950s, many people
so much more credence and attaches so much more importance to
believed that nightmares were of demonic or fantastical origin.
waking events than to those occurring in dreams.” – Andre Breton,
Although advancements in science may provide more insight into
The Manifesto of Surrealism (1924)
REM sleep and mental health in general, it is not hard to imagine
Megan Belknap’s animated work invites you to peek into her
why one would feel plagued by demons with disturbing sleep that
subconscious mind and explore the realm of her dreams. Drawing
influences one’s waking life.
from her own personal recorded dreams, she has created a work
Belknap has experimented with compositing a variety of digital
that explores nightmares, sleep paralysis, and the unsettling world
and traditional animation techniques such as charcoal drawing, to
of her sleep.
realise this work. Original audio for the piece was created by mixing
Belknap is interested in what dreams may tell us about ourselves
recorded sounds from around the city of Sydney with various
and how mental health and daily anxieties are interpreted by
discordant and ambient noise.
the unconscious mind. She is also interested in the universal commonalities we all may experience in dreams and how these
Sweet Dreams
occurrences and reoccurring motifs have been interpreted
Digital animation
throughout time.
2 minutes
TANIA NICHOLS To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower William Blake My fascination with abstraction and pattern, as a way of exploring the origins of life, stems from a deeply private and personal place. My journey through IVF procedures was an emotional and challenging time. Happily, the treatment resulted in the birth of my daughter. At just five days, she was thawed; a silver pulsating orb of cells that shimmered, magnified on a large screen and then carefully transferred inside my uterus. Prior to the treatment, I had felt like my body was a barren landscape. This lyrical new work uses abstracted coral forms as a metaphor for my feelings and experiences. The ecology of coral larvae settlement is delicate and fragile, conditions need to be just right; much like a fertilised human egg implantation. Similarities lie between the appearance of these organic structures and cellular forms inside the female reproductive system.
Landscapes Within Mixed media 66 x 180 cm
ANDRE DA SILVA Andre Da Silva is a Master of Art student at UNSW Art and Design,
His artwork evokes the idea of things such as spiders and spider’s
specialising in painting. Andre’s artwork The star spider is a body of
web, the fear of spiders or the thought of something that is caught
work comprised of three paintings, also known as a triptych.
in a spider’s web.
Andre is currently interested in the arrangement of colour and hand-
His artwork also evokes the idea of things such as ghost lights that
painting with acrylic paint. In this body of work he chose particular
can be seen but cannot be explained and the idea of being haunted,
colours, including black and white, and shades of green, purple and
another thing that cannot be explained.
yellow, some fluorescent and some non-fluorescent.
These are the kinds of things one would read about in fictitious
His artwork conveys notions of fear, terror and dread and things
horror stories.
that are terrifying, eerie or strange, such as ghosts, monsters, monster houses and the supernatural.
The star spider Acrylic on canvas 50.8 x 50.8 cm each
JODY GRAHAM I am fascinated by the shape of a door and the symbolic nature of what a door and doorway can represent. A door functions as an opening or as a closing. A doorway is a portal through which we pass when leaving one place to enter another. A door can be compelling, inviting you in. At other times a door is closed and forbidding. Sometimes we enter reluctantly and once through, we can never return to precisely what we once were. After the recent passing of someone close to me, I became absorbed in our patterns of existence and the evidence of the life we leave behind. In grappling with this I wanted to find a way to rescue what fades with the passage of time. Complementing my fascination with the shape and purpose of a door are the marks we leave on it. Marks on Egress embody a record of our living. My impulse is to translate emotion and sensuality through our desire to touch. We have an innate ability to decode emotions via touch alone. With the sensation of touching a mark, is knowledge of it transferred? To construct Egress, I have taken old artworks and bonded, painted and glued them together. I have then sanded and soaked the newly fashioned piece to form a revised history that embraces the old. This process serves my instinct to restore and mend, and allows me to incorporate a fresh account of the past with marks already embedded in the paper.
Egress (detail study) Acrylic, enamel, ink, charcoal, glue on paper 200 x 90 cm
DONGNING QIU The objectification of humans gives us another way of watching
The God can then check-out and assemble a human being
ourselves. Qiu considers that maybe we are made by the Gods.
after returning to his human-making studio.
Similar to the robots that we make, we do not really have thought
Qiu’s work explores philosophical themes of human nature
as far as the Gods are concerned. For the Gods, there is no difference between objects and humans, life on earth is just an active way of things existing. This concept can also be found in
and freedom of thought, which provides humans another view of themselves.
creationism which is a religious belief that humans were created by divine beings instead of natural processes. This work presents a part of the human-making process by the Gods in a way that reflects our lives. Just like buying products from supermarkets, human products are collected and put in a shopping basket. Human Buying Found objects, colour prints, acrylic colour, water, candy, rock salt Dimensions variable
MING OUYANG Ink wash painting is a characteristic form of Chinese traditional painting, which is also my background. I always ask myself questions: How can I put the tradition into a contemporary context? Can ink painting be playful and subversive? Therefore, I consciously reject traditional materials and methods that are associated with Chinese painting, and apply an innovative way to create ink and wash painting. I chose wool blanket to replace rice paper, because wool blanket is usually placed under rice paper in the traditional painting process, I intended to make a shift. Moreover, Australia is a country ‘riding on the sheep’s back’, wool brings Australians wealth and benefits. The painting subject is a map that depicts a part of the contours of Sydney’s shoreline and lands. It conveys a merging of two cultures, a Western subject depicted by Eastern techniques. The process is quite different when I draw on this unconventional material, it needs more time to produce ink and wash effect. The stitching on wool blanket represents the Harbour Bridge and lake that connect lands together, and a wool-made Opera House model — these iconic buildings help guide a definite location of the map. This work can be viewed from a topographical, geographical and cultural perspective. When I draw the edge of the map, I am thinking about the plate movement, how the world change and civilization of mankind. Also, this work is of a place where I lived for 2 years which has a lot of personal memories.
Map Ink, wool felt, watercolour, thread 160 x 85 cm
WENHUI HE This work of Wenhui He is an attempt to take back time, an attempt
Perhaps no words will be enough to describe what she has been
to move on, an attempt to forget and to remember. It is a letter to
through since she left home seven years ago. Perhaps all the
herself and you, to time and space, to encounter and separation.
art she makes will not be enough to show the agony and the
It is an contemplation on being and dying, on existence and
ecstasy, the love and hate, the darkness and the enlightenment.
meaninglessness, on the meaning of life and suicide.
Perhaps her voice is so quiet that people will never hear. But she
The individual could attain freedom only by undertaking a profound
believes someone out there, someone will see what she saw,
self-examination, a plunge into the reality too painful to bear. The individual could know themselves only by accepting the past and
someone can feel what she felt, someone understands what is universal in the soul.
the lost, the memory buried in the deepest sea. The individual could find meaning only by creating their own, in the meaningless world full of absurdity. Room of One’s Own, from Goodbye, My Lovely Etching 14 x 24 cm
SIEW YUN TEOH Living in Sydney, Siew Yun Teoh often sees commuters waiting for their transport at train stations and bus stops. Often, the places are bustling with people yet there is a lack of real interaction between the commuters. Many commuters pay minimal attention to their immediate surroundings and are completely absorbed by their electronic devices, transported elsewhere either aurally through headphones or visually onscreen or through electronic interactions with unknown persons. Others seem lost in their own private thoughts. Teoh is intrigued by the private worlds of these anonymous people and the sense of aloneness and even isolation of each individual. Teoh primarily paints figuratively in oil and she is doing a series of paintings in small format to focus on the idea of the deep introspection and aura of privacy of the subject. The focus of the artworks is on capturing the moment, to depict the mood of the individual commuter, usually in a state of introspection. The study underlines how each of us lives in our own spaces and embarks on our own life’s journey. From this ongoing project Teoh has selected one artwork for the current exhibition. It is about an ordinary man in a yellow jacket whom she saw waiting for his train at Redfern Station. He represents the average working class Australian who works hard and stoically lives a dignified life.
Man in Yellow Jacket Oil on canvas 17.7 x 17.7 cm
SHARON LESLIE WATKINS Sharon Leslie Watkins is a Sydney-based artist whose practice
architecture, a contemporary theory of architecture and design that
is grounded in painting, with frequent experimentation in other
mimics the processes of the natural world but does not imitate
mediums. Her series of small works on paper Urban Blueprint
their aesthetic. Urban Blueprint responds to the visual codes
encapsulates these variations in medium and their tendency to
that emerge in its wake: an attention to Modernist form, the raw
defy expectations of painterly practice. In Urban Blueprint Watkins
materiality of steel, glass and wood, and an abundance of green
uses gouache laced with pumice powder, lays bare the surface
plant life. Halfway between architectural plans and abstract still life,
of textured paper, and applies flat blocks of colour that appear as
Watkins’ works reflect on these increasingly visible public spaces,
collage. These visual tricks titillate the viewer, beckoning closer
interpreting their manicured gardens and considered design
inspection in order to unlock a stylised vocabulary of organic
through her own practice of experimentation. If these biomimetic
shapes and geometric borders. Urban Blueprint draws on Watkins’
spaces signal the beginning of a new kind of urban landscape,
interest in representations of the landscape, but skews her oft-
Watkins sets about the question of how to represent them,
explored images of park or bushland towards scenes of planned
exploring a new vocabulary of shape and form.
public space: architecture paired with vertical gardens, planter boxes, indoor gardens and lawns. The work references biomimetic
Urban Blueprint Mixed media Dimensions variable
JANET MITSUJI Janet Mitsuji’s Remembering evolved from a handful of ceramic shards, glass and old coins found while walking a familiar path; a path that someone dear to the artist would have walked many times. The pieces initiated a search for memories of her. The choice to make a vessel to hold the memories that were catalysed was intuitive. Its history of association with the female form seemed appropriate, and the jug, in particular, with its connotations of the domestic and home, the ideal fit. Drawing inspiration from the emotion imbued ceramics of Andrew Lord, Mitsuji began shaping memories into jugs. Incorporating acquired memories and memories of absence she began squeezing, pulling, pressing, and grasping the clay. The jugs metamorphosed into the physical symbol of her emotional struggle. Their construction and form ran parallel to the process of remembering: both were on the verge of collapse, frantically holding on, attempting to preserve shape and memory. The surface of the work came to reflect the nature of memory with its layers, polished bits, raw edges, fragments, and fading. Remembering emerged as a metaphor for the struggle to hold onto something precious, the acceptance that some things cannot be changed, that scars and wounds are part of the fabric of remembering, that there is beauty in the imperfect. In the spirit of wabi-sabi philosophy, this embrace of imperfection, sees Remembering confer a lasting hug.
Remembering Glazed earthenware paper clay Dimensions variable
LU MA www.mansale.store is a fictitious adult shop selling objectified male
sexuality and gender among audiences from different cultural
products. It shows how men can be viewed as sexual objects to
backgrounds. This artwork also breaks gender stereotypes in
consume. The website allows real-world shopping checkout at zero
contemporary art context as well as in the commercial pop culture
cost. Visitors will be emailed a digital receipt after submitting their
environment.
orders online.
Lu Ma is an Adobe-certified designer. She is interested in examining
Lu Ma’s intention to create this website as an artwork is to satirize
gender and sexuality in her contemporary art practice. She is
the impulse that men tend to objectify women for their erotic
currently in her final year of completing a Master of Art degree at
gratification, by showcasing the opposite. Featuring bawdy humor
UNSW Art & Design.
in the imagery and texts, these objectified male products reverse the dominant ideology of the male gaze to inform the changes between male and female dynamics and inspire discussions of www.mansale.store Mixed media installation Dimensions variable
CHRIS JONES This work by Chris Jones is an attempt to grow as a printmaker, through the exploration of new techniques and approaches to the medium. Thematically it is a commentary on the proposed Carmichael coal mine, however it is a deliberate departure from Jones’ previous work on the same subject. Jones’ most recent works regarding the mine were very illustrative, playful and included text. That was a deliberate attempt to humanise mining machinery much like the characters in the children’s books Thomas and Friends, something Jones’ young son had come to love. The result was a series of hard-edged, cynical, and destructive characters placed in the landscape that they were destroying. This work is essentially a practice-based research project, seeking out new methods of mark-making which are very different to those seen in Jones’ previous works. It is an attempt to better portray the beauty, fragility, and vulnerability of what is at risk if this mine and subsequent coal terminal comes to fruition. Until now, etching for Jones has always been a very process-driven medium. This suited the kind of hard-edged machines Jones had previously depicted. There are however, almost no straight lines in nature, therefore Jones has sought to better depict the natural environment with a more gestural approach to mark-making in both etching and lithography, to create more sympathetic, rather than cynical images. Jones now wishes to instill in his boys a sense of optimism, rather than negativity. Then There Was Trouble II Intaglio and lithograph 76 x 56 cm each
DONNA GOUGH My interests are focused on the effect light has on our psychology and spatial perception, with its inherent ability to influence the eye and mind of the viewer. As I continue to explore the conceptual side of this medium, I am interested in the idea of projected light as the means of manipulating space - along with the ephemeral nature of installations where light adds an illusionary dimension to space. Working in animation has led me to consider how images or frames converge or overlap - and the resulting space in between. Each one existing at a different point in time but where time (or space) slows down to a single frame. Linking material elements from photography, installation, sculpture and light-based media, my work is an ongoing enquiry between notions of space, time and around concepts such as the ‘unknown’ and the illusion of time (ourselves) flowing from the past towards the future as a subjective experience of consciousness.
You are here now Archival inkjet print, resin and LED lights Dimensions variable
COVER BARNABY MILES + DONNA GOUGH DESIGN DONNA GOUGH PHOTOGRAPHY BARNABY MILES + JULIAN WOLKENSTEIN PRINTING DARKSTAR DIGITAL WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO SESSIONAL LECTURER, MICHELLE CAWTHORN COURSE CONVENOR, ALLAN GIDDY AND OUR SPONSOR
ISBN: 978-0-7334-3726-7 Download this catalogue from