EMILY VALENTINE

EMILY VALENTINE

Queens Down 7 March - 1 April 2015 www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

milford galleries queenstown

9A Earl Street (03) 442 6896 qtown@milfordgalleries.co.nz

Bullburra (2015) kookaburra feathers, mixed media, size: 185 x 265 x 170 mm

1

Peacat (2015) peacock feathers, mixed media, size: 160 x 250 x 200 mm

2

3

Woompoo Pup (2015) wompoo fruit dove feathers, mixed media, size: 165 x 280 x 210 mm

Casella (2015) rosella feathers, mixed media, size: 200 x 90 x 240 mm

4

Owlmatian (2015) barking owl feathers, mixed media, size: 340 x 220 x 180 mm

5

Spancock (2014) peacock feathers, mixed media, size: 355 x 360 x 250 mm

6

Springsella (2015) rosella feathers, mixed media, size: 250 x 220 x 115 mm

7

Pussikeet (2014) lorikeet feathers, mixed media, size: 350 x 135 x 80 mm

8

8

Bitsy Boy (2014) mixed feathers, mixed media, size: 215 x 140 x 110 mm

Wood Duck Plane (2015) brown wood duck feathers, mixed media, size: 430 x 400 x 105 mm

10

Fruit Dove Lizard (2015) fruit dove feathers, mixed media, size: 250 x 190 x 55 mm

11

Wattle Lizard (2015) wattle feathers, mixed media, size: 250 x 210 x 65 mm

12

Emily Valentine’s hybrid beasts are unnerving and strangely familiar.

At once beautiful and discombobulating, Valentine poses riddles and serious questions, building visual dilemma and acute paradox.

Her works reference ancient myths, where animals traversed species, reached across time and were the embodiment of great threat and immortal legend. Valentine also actively debates the conflicts of technology today, species threat and environmental degradation.

Each of the wondrous statuettes has been adorned with feathers and transformed into something that is between species. Memory, suggestion and fact are in this way subverted and deliberately mixed up. What is it? What are we looking at? The artistic objective is to disconcert and in that process forge new awareness, demand questions and elicit explicit responses.

And yet nothing is as it at first seems. These are works with significant emotive presence too and Valentine uses gaze, feeling and consciousness to address the viewer directly. They are beguiling, beautiful and alarming, all at once.

The unforgettable works in Queens Down demonstrate Valentine’s transformative ability to imbue her animals with personality and character, while clothing them with improbability and the layered dynamic of myth. In that process, she suspends disbelief, is enormously inventive and poses very important questions of us all

EXHIBITION PRICELIST

1

Springsella (2015)

3,000

2

Bullburra (2015)

2,450

3

Peacat (2015)

2,500

4

Woompoo Pup (2015)

2,250

5

Casella (2015)

2,500

6

Owlmatian (2015)

2,900

7

Spancock (2014)

3,250

8

Pussikeet (2014)

1,400

9

Bitsy Boy (2014)

1,400

10

Wood Duck Plane (2015)

1,750

11

Fruit Dove Lizard (2015)

690

12

Wattle Lizard (2015)

650

All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition

EMILY VALENTINE b. New Zealand, lives Australia

Emily Valentine: Pomerooster (2013)

A sense of the mythical surrounds the hybrid beasts created by Emily Valentine. Cats and dogs sprout wings and feathery pelts, drawing to mind the sphinxes and gryphons that populate tales from ancient history. Cyborg bird-planes bring new meanings to the phrase ‘wonderful flying machines’, drawing together science-fiction elements with Valentine’s investigations into the place of animals in a world dominated by mankind and technology.

As well as commercially available feathers, Valentine does not shy away from using road-kill, commenting that “a driver’s right to use the road is a given. Animal and bird kill barely rates a mention.”

(1) She has also trapped Indian mynah birds, a registered pest species, to make feathered warplanes as a commentary on invasive species. With animals still exploited for their fur and feathers, Valentine questions the way we view them – what makes one a commodity, one a pest, and another a pet?

Using ready-made statuettes as a base, Valentine produces new combinations that are unnerving yet strangely familiar. Whereas the markings of Lying Loripuss bring to mind any number of everyday moggies, the work is resplendent in emerald and orange lorikeet feathers and features a pair of wings tucked against the body.

Born in New Zealand and now resident in Australia, Valentine studied Jewellery and Object Design at the Sydney College of the Arts, gaining her Bachelor’s degree in 1987. A regular exhibitor in both Australia and New Zealand, she started working with feathers in 1999 when she produced Road Kill, a pair of shoes made from a lorikeet that had been killed by a car. Budgerigar Brassiere, featuring her own dead budgies, won the ‘Bizarre Bra’ section at the prestigious New Zealand World of Wearable Arts in 2002.

1. Artist’s statement, 2013.

Emily Valentine 2015 CV P a g e |1

milford galleries queenstown

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

EMILY VALENTINE b. New Zealand, lives Australia EDUCATION 1984-87

Bachelor of Arts, Sydney College of the Arts majoring in Jewellery & Object Design

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2015 2014

2013

2012 2011 2010 2009

2007 2006 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1996 1994 1993 1992 1991

Queens Down, milford galleries queenstown Feathered Finery, Solander Gallery, Wellington Feathered Friends, Online Exhibition, Jas Hugonnet Gallery, Australia Feathery Friends, Manning Regional Gallery, Taree, Australia Feather Fantastic, J Online Exhibition, Jas Hugonnet Gallery, Australia Feather Fanciest, Masterworks Gallery, Auckland Feathers Are My Paint, Zimmerman Art Gallery, Palmerston North Feather Fancier, Tauranga Art Gallery, Tauranga Feather Flings, Online Exhibition, Jas Hugonnet Gallery, Australia Flying Forward, Online Exhibition, Jas Hugonnet Gallery, Australia Feather Fancy, Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui Flying Flings, Craft ACT: Craft & Design Centre, Canberra, Australia Dog the Bird, Masterworks Gallery, Auckland Dogs and Dolls, Hunter TAFE, Newcastle, Australia Mynah Messiah, Tin Sheds Gallery, University of Sydney, Australia Flown To, Pataka, Porirua, Wellington Flown, Quoil Gallery, Wellington Exciting, Exsighting, Exsiting! A-Space, Sydney, AUS City Edge, Enmore Theatre, Sydney, Australia City Edge, Enmore Theatre, Sydney, Australia Edged Over, Tapp Gallery, Sydney, Australia City Edge, Enmore Theatre, Sydney, Australia Sole to Soul, Walking the Streets, Sydney, Australia Beaded Booty, Shopfront Gallery, Sydney, Australia Objects & Old Lace, Shopfront Gallery, Sydney, Australia Wood a Feather Have a Bone, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia Sole to Soul, Walking the Streets, Sydney, Australia Collidscape Airspace, Redfern, Sydney, Australia Burning Bush, Bounty Gallery, Glebe, Sydney, Australia

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2014 2013

2012

2011

The Review, milford galleries Queenstown Quintessentially Queer; Quriouser and Quriouser, Kerrie Lowe Gallery, Newtown, Australia Spring Catalogue, milford galleries Queenstown Maxius Minimus, Defiance Gallery, Newtown, Australia Birds, Birds, Birds, Masterworks Gallery, Auckland Don’t Shoot the Messenger, Solander Gallery, Wellington Back to the USSR, Kerrie Lowe Gallery, Newtown, Australia Tiny Tatans and Miniliths, Defiance Gallery, Newtown, Australia A Time of Gifts, Stanley St Gallery, Sydney, Australia Animals, Syndicate at Danks, Waterloo, Australia Exploration 12, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, Australia A4 – Smallworks, Glass Artist Gallery, Glebe, Australia Christmas Show, Wilson St Gallery, Sydney, Australia Animal Instincts, Glass Artist Gallery, Glebe, Australia Mini Majors, 16th Miniature Sculpture Exhibition, Defiance Gallery, Newtown, Australia Manning Art Prize, Manning Regional Gallery, Taree, Australia Game On, Hastings City Art Gallery, Hastings Flight, Salmagundi Gallery, Arncliffe, Australia

Emily Valentine 2015 CV P a g e |2

milford galleries queenstown

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

2010-11

2010

2008

2007

2006

2005 2004-05

2003 2002

2001

1998 1996 1995

1993 1992 1990 1998 1986

Creatures Great and Small, Masterworks Gallery, Auckland Art and Humour Me, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney, Australia Animal Collective Nouns, Gaffa Gallery, Sydney, Australia Doggie Dogma, A-Space Gallery, Sydney, Australia Excessory – Contemporary Australian Jewellery, Museums & Galleries NSW touring exhibition curated by Sarah Samild, Manly Art Gallery & Museum; Rockhampton Art Gallery; Grafton Regional Gallery; Goulburn Regional Art Gallery; Yarra Ranges Regional Museum Little Devils, Defiance Gallery, Newtown, Australia Green, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney, Australia Celebrating 40 Years of the Alice Prize 1970 – 2010, Northern Territory Craft, Alice Springs, Australia Private Park, Mary Newton Gallery, Wellington Pouch, A-Space Gallery, Sydney, Australia What Touched My Soul, MAD Gallery, Sydney, Australia One Small Step for Mankind, Defiance Gallery, Newtown, Australia Pocket Sculptures, A-Space Gallery, Sydney, Australia Curios, Contemporary Jewellery, Redlands Regional Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia Weird, Wild and Wonderful, A-Space Gallery, Sydney, Australia Norsewear New Zealand Contemporary Art Award, Exhibition Centre, Hastings Exploration: Contemporary Jewellery, Gaffa Galley, Sydney, Australia Black and White, Glass Artist Gallery, Glebe, Australia Canine Capers, A-Space Gallery, Sydney, Australia JOC (Jewellery out of Contex), touring exhibition curated by Peter Deckers & Sandra Shaw to Sydney, Auckland, Hallifax, Canada & Europe 4th Annual Dog Exhibition, A-Space Gallery, Sydney, Australia Junk Love, Reverse Garbage, Sydney, Australia 29th Alice Springs Acquisition Award, Northern Territory Craft, Australia Anti-War Medals, Touring exhibition organised by Velet da Vinci, San Francisco, USA. Travelling to Oslo, Copenhagen, Valencia & London Melding, Touring exhibition of eight Regional Australian Galleries curated; Jenny Williams and Emily Bullock.

National Contemporary Jewellery Award, Griffith Regional Gallery, Australia World of Wearable Art, Nelson 28th Alice Springs Acquisition Award, Northern Territory Craft, Australia World of Wearable Art, Nelson Junk Love, Reverse Garbage, Sydney, Australia National Contemporary Jewellery Award, Griffith Regional Gallery, Australia Contemporary Jewellery and Metalwork, Makers Mark, Sydney, Australia 27th Alice Springs Acquisition Award, Northern Territory Craft, Australia Sites of Adornment, Doggett St Studio, Brisbane, Australia 5th National Contemporary Jewellery Award, Griffith Regional Gallery, Australia Momento, Makers Mark, Sydney, Australia 4th National Contemporary Jewellery Award, Griffith Regional Gallery, Australia Headfirst, Craftwest, Perth, Australia 3rd National Contemporary Jewellery Award, Griffith Regional Gallery, Australia Ceremony, Holsworth Gallery, Sydney, Australia Clockworks, Cornucopia, Sydney, Australia Up Front, Door Gallery, Perth, Australia Four Elements, Blaxland Gallery, Sydney, Australia Collidescape, Airspace, Sydney, Australia Wearable Glass, Glass Artist Gallery, Sydney, Australia Graduate Metal, Craft Council of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia Blake Prize, Blaxland Gallery, Sydney, Australia

AWARDS 2014 2013

World of Wearable Art, WOW Factor Prize, Wellington Marrickville Art Seat, Petersham NSW Australia

Emily Valentine 2015 CV P a g e |3

milford galleries queenstown

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

2011 2010 2007 2004-05

2001 2000

Residency Gunyah Cottage, Fries Trust, North Arm Cove, Australia The Cat Advocate Prize for Emerging artist, Mini Majors, Defiance Gallery Residency Tylee House, Sargeant Gallery, Whanganui 30th Alice Springs Acquisition Award, Northern Territory Craft Award Merit award (1 of 3) Norseweart, NZ Contemporary Art Award 2007 Vision Grant, Australian Federal Government 2004/05, for co-curating Melding a Contemporary Jewellery Exhibition to tour 8 regional galleries in Australia, and to produce a catalogue.

Mac's Bizarre Bra, World of Wearable Arts, Nelson Most Innovative Work, Marker Mark, Sydney, Australia

COLLECTIONS The Dowse Art Museum The James Wallace Arts Trust Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui National Library of Australia Northern Territory Art Gallery, NT Australia Worldofwearableart Museum, Nelson

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2011 Radio review on Kim Hill’s show, Art with Mary Kisler Sat am 19.02.2011 2010 Norris, Yolande, The Feathered Familiar, Exhibition Essay Flying Flings Craft ACT: Craft & Design Centre, Canberra, 12 February – 20 March 2010 2010 Cover photo on Art Zone No 37 Nov 2010 - Feb 2011 ISSN; 1176-3752 2008 Curtin, Jennie, A Feather of Fine Works, Thanks to Mynas, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 December 2008

Emily Valentine: Lying Loripuss (2013)

Emily Valentine 2015 CV P a g e |4

milford galleries queenstown

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz