Selected works from RMIT Culture collections and International Collections

Augustine Dall'Ava, If Only Carl Knew No 29, 1994

What draws me to this work is the mixture of textures and shapes evident within the work. The direct lighting of the photograph heightens the difference between each segment, from the metal pair and the red and black cone being incredibly reflective to the stone absorbing the light. I have been exploring taking my work into a more sculptural focus as of late and have been really interested in how different paints leave a different finish and how they capture the light. This work is really good at showing the differences.

Augustine Dall'Ava

If Only Carl Knew No 29, 1994

Painted wood, natural wood, painted and natural stone, painted seed pods, granite, bronze, steel and linen thread

100.5 x 117 x 35.5 cm

Purchased through the RMIT Art Fund, 2010 RMIT University Art Collection

Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori, Dibirdibi Country, 2009 The synthetic polymer paint shows the gestural marks of the artists’ hands and it gives the work a pulsing rhythm. I really love how the colours interact with one another. My favourite part is the relationship between the bright warm purple and strong orange across the left side of the painting. I find it influential to my practice because I also seek to achieve specific colour harmonies within my paintings and have always admired Gabori’s use of bright colours.

Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori Dibirdibi Country, 2009 Synthetic polymer paint on linen 122 x 136 cm

Purchased through the RMIT Art Fund, 2012 RMIT University Art Collection

Darren Wardle, Synthetic State, 2012

Last semester I had the great privilege of being taught by Darren who has been a huge help in guiding me on my own artistic journey. I love the different mix of styles integrated within the work, from the ‘street art’ style in the top hand corner, to the geometric squares in the panel to the realistic architectural spaces created within the work. What I’m most interested in is this blending of styles and concepts in the one work that Darren is especially good at.

Darren Wardle Synthetic State, 2012 Oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas

152.5 x 244 cm

Purchased through the RMIT Art Fund, 2012 RMIT University Art Collection

Laundry

LAUNDRY is a (self) portrait in which the subject is depicted eating icecream while staring into space. Through these visual cues, one understands that this person is how they say ‘going thru it’ (I hadn’t showered in days). Even though this is a photograph taken of a specific moment the moment still feels frozen as if the individual would have stood there, tongue out until the ice cream fell off the spoon. The vibrant colours and geometric shapes directly contrast the muted patters of the suburban home. As a result, this has a jarring effect, our eyes struggle to find a place to rest. The clutter of the background is both a sign of familiarity and that of distress. It is the physical representation of isolation stagnation.

Bathtub

The home and the personal have become a lot more prevalent as a viable environment to make art the longer this period of self-isolation progresses. As a result, this piece is a product of its time. 300 drawings placed within the cramped walls of a suburban bathroom. A juxtaposition between universal spaces in which we are spending a large amount of time, and the abstract, escapist environments created within the drawings. The work explores the tensions of having to continue to live life as normally as possible as we attempt to grapple with the existential dread of the unknown.

Train stop

The train was chosen as a viable environment because pre-COVID, it was a setting that most would interact with, without giving it much thought. Now getting on the train, however, is an anxiety-inducing experience, and seeing the many empty carriages also adds the unsettling feeling. The tension between the difference in the setting from the usual context in which we view them is used as a vessel to explore my own isolation and frustration within this time period. By placing a bright abstract artwork within the framework of an empty moving train I hope to highlight the contrast between the two of them to create new synergies with both the paintings and the environments in which they are placed within.

Tamar Gordon

Tamar Chaya Gordon was born, grew up, andcontinues to work and practice in Melbourne / Naarm on the lands of the Yalukit.Wilum people of the Kulin Nation. Tamar explores the intersection of language and material, through photography and performance. Tamar works intuitively, playing with the power of the subconscious and chance. Through this, her inner world is unveiled. Tamar has just recently curated an online exhibition ‘What Lies In Between’ at LimmudOz, working with both national and international Jewish Australian artists, exploring religion, identity and ritual.