t s i t r A An Residence in Lisa Roet By Rowena Hannan Head of Visual Arts
Thanks to the generosity of the Korovian Club, we have been fortunate to have shared our art spaces with the renowned multidisciplinary artist, Lisa Roet throughout Terms 2 and 3. Lisa’s practice focuses on our relationship with primates and she is very clear to point out that as humans, we are also primates. Lisa works in a broad range of media such as drawing, printmaking, jewellery, video and sculpture. Her recent work, ‘David Greybeard’, an enormous inflatable chimpanzee was installed on Princes Bridge as part of the Melbourne Festival at the end of last year. Lisa created this work in collaboration with Primatologist, Jane Goodall and The Jane Goodall Foundation.
These cruciform shapes create cutouts and are surrounded by bronze rubbings from the skin of an orangutan that was once part of Charles Darwin’s study for his writing of ‘The Origin of Species’. This artwork speaks very powerfully of the melding of science and spirituality. As staff and students, we have all walked past these simple cruciform shapes every day, most of us barely noticing or considering their significance. That is one of the wonderful things about being exposed to the practice of an artist like Lisa Roet. We are able to look at the world around us through different eyes and contemplate all its possibilities.
As an Artist in Residence, Lisa has brought her passion for the environment and conservation into the Art studios at Korowa. She has worked amongst our classes, having discussions with our Art Committee, the Environment Group and students from a breadth of year levels about her processes and the concepts that underpin her art practice. Lisa has been inspired and absorbed our School’s physical environment into the imagery she has developed during her residency. She has incorporated the cruciform shapes that flank either end of walkways throughout the School, into a series of preparatory drawings and maquettes for bronze screens. Artist in Residence, Lisa Roet.
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