Toyota Community Spirit Gallery presents emerging artists from the cities of Hobsons Bay, Port Phillip & beyond
The Looking Glass Reflections of the Modern World 24 March to 25 June 2010
Toyota Australia, 155 Bertie Street, Port Melbourne Inquiries Ken Wong 0419 570 846 Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm or by appointment
Toyota Community Spirit Gallery The Toyota Community Spirit Gallery is an initiative of Toyota Community Spirit, Toyota Australia’s corporate citizenship program. Toyota Community Spirit develops partnerships that share Toyota’s skills, networks, expertise and other resources with the community. The Toyota Community Spirit Gallery aims to provide space for artists, especially emerging artists to show their work. The space is provided free of charge to exhibiting artists, no commission is charged on sales and Toyota provides an exhibition launch and develops a catalogue for each exhibition. The gallery has now shown works by over 530 artists. This project is mounted in consultation with Hobsons Bay City Council and the City of Port Phillip.
The Looking Glass Featuring the works of
Mazin Ahmad Santina Amato Phillip Barnes Nicolette Benjamin Black Tiffaney Bishop Jillian Bolitho Patrick Christie Li-Kim Chuah Louise Curtis Katherine Dine Andy Dudok Heather Duff Lisa Engelhardt Kirstin Finlayson Susan Frisch Jason Fujiwara Jim Grimwade Colleen Guiney
Lucy Hardie Jacqui Henshaw Caroline Ierodiaconou Chris Ingham Mehwish Iqbal Josephine Jakobi Megan Jones Heja Jung Ka’a Nicholas Kallincos David-Ashley Kerr Sue Manski Kirsty Mayer Bradley O’Connor Carlo Pagoda Ilariu Norian Paicu Donn Pattenden María Peña
Thanks To Catalogue Editing Pre Press & Graphic Design
Dominique Plumanns Jackie Ralph Carmen Reid Carmel Riordan Nadja Slovak Jasmine Targett Matt Tsourdalakis Ingrid Tufts Justin Tumilaar Gary Walker Gail Willoughby Ming-Tim Yek
Tania Blackwell, Hobsons Bay City Council Louisa Scott, City of Port Phillip Toyota Community Spirit Gallery Committee Katarina Persic, Toyota Australia
Ken Wong (watcharts.com.au) Sandra Kiriacos
IMAGE: FRONT COVER Kyoto Moon Jacqui Henshaw Photograph 132x163cm 2008 INSIDE COVER Flowering Gum Neckpiece (detail) Susan Frisch Sterling Silver, Soda Lime Glass, Stainless Steel 4.5x4.5x1.5cm 2009 IMAGE THIS PAGE Detail from video installation Tea Party Santina Amato 150x200x50cm 2007 The opinions and points of view expressed by participants through the artworks and artists statements in this exhibition and catalogue are those of the individual person or persons and are not intended to reflect the position of Toyota Australia.
Ken Wong This exhibition is the CURATOR
twenty-second in a continuous series for Toyota Community Spirit Gallery that has shown the works of over 530 artists since its inception in 2004. The gallery has always maintained a special focus on providing opportunity for emerging artists and in particular, local emerging artists. This is the sixth dedicated emerging artist exhibition featuring the works of 15 artists from the cities of Hobsons Bay and Port Phillip, along with 33 guest artists from other areas of Victoria and 5 artists from interstate. This project received a record number of over 200 applications from all over Australia, an indication that our program is becoming widely recognized as a valuable opportunity within the broader artistic community. The Looking Glass provides an insight into the hearts and minds of Australia’s community of emerging artists, and as such it is an insight into the inner voice of our broader community. The role of the artist has always been to reflect the hopes, dreams aspirations and concerns that are contemporary to the society and the era from which they come. The selected artists and works represent a broad cross section of Australian community and values reflecting perspectives from our rich and ethnically diverse migrant community as well as insights influenced by indigenous culture.
Through a diverse range of mediums and artistic practices, this exhibition holds up a mirror reflecting contemporary society through a myriad of subjects that range from the micro, like seeking to find the beauty and wonder in everyday things, to the macro in exploring the wisdom and culture of the ancients, to concerns about global economics, global warming, the preservation of our precious natural resources and human concerns about culture and identity in our fast changing world. In many ways contemporary Australian society is a microcosm reflecting the macrocosm of the world at large. The struggle to survive and plot a sustainable path to the future remains a challenge that is perhaps encapsulated by this quote from of one of our exhibiting artists, Heja Jung, when she describes her journey as “...a long sometimes challenging though rich and rewarding process of living and working at the intersection of several different cultures.� The struggle to find balance and harmony with ourselves, each other and the environment we all exist in, is a global phenomenon that is perhaps the greatest challenge of our times. Maybe the process of reflection and the insights offered through the work of artists can provide some valuable food for thought. Welcome to The Looking Glass.
Ken Wong is the Director of Watch Arts, a Victorian based contemporary arts consultancy. He has worked in the fine arts industry for over ten years in both commercial and community arts, curating and managing a host of projects including gallery and outdoor sculpture exhibitions.
he Looking Glas
Mazin Ahmad NEW SOUTH WALES
Mazin is originally from Iraq. He has been exhibiting and pursuing his art in Australia over the past few years. In 2006 he was the winner of the Blacktown Art Prize and in 2009, the winner of the Auburn Mayoral Art Award in Sydney. His experience in modern art has developed in a logical and sequential transition from explorations of his natural talent through academic studies and years of practice in realist drawing through to expressionism. His experience and research has developed into his current style which he describes as abstract expressionism.
The Harp
Mixed media on canvas 100 x 100cm, 2009, $3500
A long time ago
I adopted humanitarian issues as a major theme of my art works, specifically relations between human beings with each other and the land. As an artist I attempt to place on canvas the rough texture of human life, illustrating not a smooth journey but rather one that is eventful, complete with creative activity required in establishing civilization in the land and to record the memory of both. Art works have always played a role in alerting the feelings of the viewer to the humanitarian values of those civilizations and cultures. I explore these relationships using symbols from ancient civilisations and traditions, utilising rough textures as well as hot colours associated with the land.
06
VICTORIA
My practice
is based around a fairytale place of deceptively childish charm and logic, encapsulating an enchanting world for the audience, where worlds I imagine through daydreaming are literally translated into reality. I incorporate static sculptural installations using found objects, like a dolls house dining table or a kitchen cabinet, with a singular performative video component. By deconstructing linear ideas of time and space, my aim is to transport the viewer into a wonderland where the real is unreal and the unreal is real, at the same time subverting conventional notions of video. The result is an energetic and sculptural redefinition of the moving image.
salG gnikooL eh
Santina Amato
Tea Party
Video installation 150 x 200 x 50cm, 2007, NFS Below left: detail of installation
Santina has a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Victorian College of the Arts, completing Honours in 2009. She was a finalist in the Wallara Travelling Scholarship Award, and was awarded the Alliance Francaise and the Shelmerdine Aquisitive Award. Since completeing her degree, she has exhibited locally, and in three group shows internationally. In 2008, she was awarded a grant from the Ian Potter Cultural Trust Fund to complete a six week residency program in Beijing, China. This year, she has been accepted into two three month Artist in Residence programs at Kala Art Institute, San Francisco, and RAID Projects, Los Angeles, partially supported by Copyright Agency Limited. 07
he Looking Glas Josh Owen
Phillip Barnes VICTORIA
The style
of these portraits emerges from extensive practice in fields as diverse as sculpture, printmaking and design graphics. These portraits begin with a highly detailed portrait drawing over which are laid multiple panels of metal, plastic and paint forming a work that invites the viewer to explore both content and process. Milestones from the sitter’s life are woven through the warp and weft of the multidimensional works asking the viewer to contemplate just where these references come from and how they are significant to the sitter.
Mixed Media 90 x 120cm, 2009, $7500
Phillip has worked as a portrait artist in sculpture and painting completing over five hundred portraits for charity during the past thirty years. Following basic training at Melbourne University he undertook further study at both Graduate and Masters levels whilst supporting a family through a teaching career. He has only recently begun showing his works in public exhibitions, notably being chosen as a finalist in the 2008 Archibald Prize.
08
salG gnikooL eh
Nicolette Benjamin Black NEW SOUTH WALES
My recent
art is a response to Western Society’s addiction to consumer goods and the compulsive need to own the latest piece of gadgetry or the latest up-grade. This obsessive behaviour of ours has led to the development of a mountain of unwanted cast-off “stuff”. I have viewed this rubbish as a rich source of raw materials for the production of artworks that comment on the wastefulness of western consumerist lifestyle and asks us to reconsider the cost of the many items we now take for granted in our day to day living.
Green and grey basket
Found computer cords and green copper wire 65 x 23cm circumference, 2009, $400
Nicolette is a regional artist from Murrumbateman in NSW who graduated from the National Institute of Art at ANU in 2000. Nicolette has had work selected to be in the Fleurieu Peninsula Biennale, The Country Energy Art Prize, twice, and was a finalist in the “Off the Wall”, Art Sydney, 2009. Nicolette has work in the National Archives of Australia and private collections nationally and more of her work can be seen on www.NicoletteBenjaminBlack.com.
09
he Looking Glas
Tiffaney Bishop VICTORIA
Ephebiphobia #2
Digital Image Giclee Print 100 x 100cm, 2009/10, $850
Tiffaney has a Communications Degree, an Honours Degree in Media Arts, and is currently studying for a Masters in Fine Art Photo Media at Monash University, Melbourne. She has been pursuing her art practice since 2007, producing four solo exhibitions and an invitation to exhibit at the Peace Museum in Gernika, Spain. She currently works as an artist facilitator providing technical and creative support and guidance for a permanent youth based art collective she co-founded in 2008, which is attracting local, national and international interest. She is currently planning and sourcing funding to take the six members of her art collective to New York to visit and work with a similar art collective based in The Bronx that has been operating for over twenty years. Her main areas of interest are collaborative practice, the artist collective, youth activism, relational aesthetics and the intersection between community art and fine art. 10
This
work is part of a series that talks about habitual youth violence in my local community, but instead of denigrating young people it considers the reasons behind such violence and invites the viewer to look beyond the surface, to draw back the veil of misunderstanding and consider the hardships, prejudices, stigma and even vilification that many young people experience. It investigates ephebiphobia - a social phobia that describes a culture of fear and loathing of teenagers and adolescence – a fear and loathing that is often an exaggerated and counterproductive characterisation of young people. Colloquial text is layered over the entire image deliberately interrupting the reading of the work and repetition encourages the viewer to give greater thought to the works’ testimony.
VICTORIA
Jillian completed a Diploma of Art at Phillip Institute of Technology in 1983 and has continued to pursue her practice consistently over a long period of time while supporting herself with unrelated employment. In 2004 she completed a Diploma of Graphic Arts at Box Hill Institute and is currently studying for a Bachelor of Fine Art at Curtin University.
salG gnikooL eh
Jillian Bolitho
When I grow too old
Digital images on acetate, muslin & ink 24.5 x 55 x 70cm (variable) 2009, NFS (below detail)
�When I grow too old
to dream� is the title of a song often sung in nursing homes. This work is a response to the loss of self through dementia and aging and part of an ongoing body of work looking at the conveyer belt of life at the dropping-off point.
11
he Looking Glas
Patrick Christie
VICTORIA - REPRESENTED BY MELBOURNE FINE ART GALLERY
A blank page, the finest nib, a well of ink. The accident that almost cost me the use of my hands made me realise I had to take my art seriously before it was taken away from me. Now my only limit is my imagination.
King Protea in vase
Pen & ink on paper 67 x 51cm, 2009, $2200
In 2001, while working as specialist horse trainer Patrick had a serious riding accident, breaking fingers on both hands. The prospect of never being able to draw again prompted a decision to develop his passion of drawing into a career as a visual artist. After surgery and a long rehabilitation process he has recently begun exhibiting his works in Sydney and Melbourne.
12
VICTORIA - CITY OF HOBSONS BAY
I am a storyteller that follows a constant urge to capture and create. I won’t leave the house without at least one camera and am constantly caught by the artistic potential in my everyday surroundings. In a world saturated with digital images, I have chosen to return to the warmth of film, exploring the potential of altering analogue negatives and super 8 film with a variety of mediums. This piece uses hand painting and collage to weave an ethereal story and rewrites the history and cultural memory of the photograph’s location, Labassa Mansion.
salG gnikooL eh
Li-Kim Chuah
Deer Mansion
Type C Photograph 45 x 38.5cm, 2009, $250
Li-Kim has a photographic history spanning the last decade, but she has only recently refocussed her energies on the medium after a long stint studying and working in film and TV. Using her own negatives and those collected from second hand shops, she seeks to explore the themes of memory and dreams by altering history and creating new stories from old photographic documentation, creating a body of work which she hopes will result in her first solo show within the next year. She is also compiling a photographic zine of some of her images which she plans to sell locally.
13
he Looking Glas Curvus
Louise Curtis VICTORIA
Slip-cast Earthenware with Latin Verse, oxides & earthenware glaze 31 x 24.5 x 14cm, 2009, $240
My current
oeuvre draws upon the eternal qualities of the ancients in developing text-inspired decorative surfaces. I create intimate ceramic vessels that are refined in detail and finish and layered with multiple meanings that invite dialogue, despite fragmented narratives forming improbable riddles. Whilst this world of antiquity has become an absorbing passion and infinite source of inspiration, the human foibles explored within the many layers infuse my work with underlying tones, establishing it firmly within the contemporary.
Louise commenced studying ceramics at tertiary level immediately following secondary school, but career opportunities led her down a different path. During this period her interest in art continued to expand with constant visits to National and International galleries and exhibitions, and in the ceaseless exploration of diverse creative mediums; including a strong interest in drawing. In 2001 she was inspired by the ceramics of Patrick Collins, which culminated several years later with her return to studies, to which she brought a rich reserve of life experiences. In 2004 she became a mother which she says dramatically slowed, but has consequently informed, her creative development. Recently Louise has turned her full attention to this artistic pursuit and will continue her research via Honours in 2011. 14
VICTORIA - CITY OF HOBSONS BAY
Doll Face
is
inspired by a love of op shops. The objects that surround me often influence my work. The discovery of an old doll in a charity store is all it takes to spark my imagination; I like to look at objects that have a mysterious story behind them. This is why I find op shops so appealing; everything in there has been used by someone else, worn by someone else, loved by someone else. I like to capture the mystery inspiring the viewers to concoct their own tantalising version of where it came from and what happened in its previous life.
salG gnikooL eh
Katherine Dine
Doll Face
Aerosol Enamel on canvas 100 x 75cm, 2010, $280
Katherine’s passion for art has been evident since childhood, and her ambition of being a successful artist producing cutting edge contemporary work of the highest quality is well under way. Her first exhibition was a group show at the Newport Substation, now known as the Hobson’s Bay Community Arts Centre (HBCAC) in 2002, when her work has selected for the VCE Art Exhibition. Since then she has completed a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Mediated Art and has been involved in many activities within the art community. In 2005 she was a finalist in the Williamstown Festival Tattersall’s Contemporary Art Prize, taking out the Peoples Choice Award. She says her greatest experience so far has been her involvement in Street SmART, a program she initiated and still facilitates which provides opportunities to young local artists. 15
he Looking Glas
Andy Dudok VICTORIA - CITY OF HOBSONS BAY
Iron Man
Metal 50 x 20cm, 2010, NFS (detail shown)
Andy is an employee of Toyota from the factory floor at Altona. He first became interested in sculpture as a high school student and won second prize for a wood carving at the 1975 Royal Melbourne Show. He has been creating steel sculptures since 2003, drawing heavily on his obviously excellent technical trade skills. His art practice is self-taught and inspired by his love of working with steel. 16
I consider
myself an emerging artist as while I don’t have enough time to pursue my interest in metal sculpture, I am keen to do more in the future as I find my enjoyment and satisfaction growing with each new work. I was asked to create this piece as a gift and wanted to try another method of metal work that’s been on my mind for some time. The method involves creating the shape out of sand, then pouring plaster to create a mould. I then washed the sand out of the mould and lined the plaster model with steel nuts that were then welded together.
VICTORIA
salG gnikooL eh
Heather Duff
There for You Acrylic on canvas 76 x 152.5cm, 2009, $2800
My work
is quite autobiographical with the changes in my life inevitably becoming the subject matter. This piece was motivated by the confusion and great sense of loss I felt when a friend and colleague took their life. Recent travel around Australia has opened up the aesthetic beauty and wonder of this extreme country, but I am not satisfied with painting representational images. I aim to make a comment, arouse a thought about the human condition and provoke the viewer. The sense of narrative is explored but not explicit, so the viewer becomes an interpreter, deciphering the significance of the imagery.
Heather completed her Masters of Fine Art in painting at RMIT in 1989 and has painted all her life. However it is only in recent years that she has consistently participated in exhibitions, gradually building a circle of awareness for her work that has led to her recent decision to pursue her art full time. 17
he Looking Glas
Lisa Engelhardt VICTORIA - CITY OF PORT PHILLIP
Yellow Forme
Digital/photographic print 72 x 51cm, 2009, $600
Lisa grew up in St Kilda, working for several years in Acland Street and becoming an active member of the community participating in the St Kilda Festival and St Kilda Library workshops. In 2006 she graduated a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Monash University and was awarded a Study Abroad Scholarship at the Glasgow School of Art in the UK. Her practice is multi-disciplinary, exploring the interaction of traditional fine arts mediums with media technologies. 18
I love the
intimacy and the immediacy of the drawing, enjoying the therapeutic aspects of the process as well as looking at creating an interior artistic space. Yellow Forme is part of a series about recycling where I scan elements of unfinished drawings, sketches, doodles and illustrations and digitally manipulate them with found imagery and photos to create new works of art. The drawings are originally black ink pen and are inverted using a negative digital process. The placement of a botanical element in the montage references the natural process of the hand drawing and also creates a stark contrast to the flatness of the digital aesthetic.
VICTORIA
My work is
about interacting with, and engaging the viewer, forcing them through familiar objects not only to become a part of my subconscious expression but to interact with their own subconscious world. I love the playful mystery often surrounding objects, whether valuable or not and the invested personal importance that each object has to his or her owner. The rolling pin (a domestic object found in most kitchens around the world) and the androgynous little cupie doll, seemed a new fun and interesting way to combine two very common objects of mass production and consumption. This object is a fun re-interpretation of the traditional glass pastry pins, and like its predecessor it is very functional. Having undergone this transformation the object now has a new purpose and has become an object all on its own, a precious commodity; a one of a kind collectible. Kirstin is currently undertaking a Masters Degree at Monash University where she is exploring the ornamentalisation of found objects, bric-a-brac, and odd items, which carry no obvious intrinsic value or purpose. By collecting outmoded and unloved objects and re-casting them in glass, she is looking to re-contextualise the objects sending them back into the world renewed and reborn.
salG gnikooL eh
Kirstin Finlayson
Cupie pins Glass 51 x 12 x 9.5cm, 2010, $890 each
19
he Looking Glas
Susan Frisch VICTORIA
There is an old American
Native Indian proverb that goes something like, treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents but borrowed from your children. Our Australian landscape is rugged yet fragile, and we, as well as future generations have much to lose if what remains is not preserved. It is in this context that I base my practice. My work captures a small piece of a larger picture, a response to what is truly precious, of a moment in time that passes, but one that hopefully will not be lost forever. Born in Melbourne in 1964, Susan moved to Kilmore in country Victoria in the late 1970’s. Achieving a lifelong goal she enrolled in an Advanced Diploma of Gold and Silversmithing at NMIT in 2006, graduating the following year. Working from her Kilmore based studio in the mediums of glass and metal her practice is influenced by the beauty and diversity of the Australian bush, reflecting its shapes, textures and colours. Susan has exhibited locally and nationally and currently has work in a number of galleries interstate as well as Melbourne and regional Victoria. From top
Red Pod Brooch
Sterling Silver, Soda Lime Glass, Stainless Steel 5x2x2cm, 2010, $660
Flowering Gum Neckpiece
Sterling Silver, Soda Lime Glass, Stainless Steel 4.5x 4.5x1.5 cm, 2009, $660
Flowering Gum Brooch
Sterling Silver, Soda Lime Glass, Stainless Steel 4.5x 4.5x1.5 cm, 2009, $660 20
VICTORIA - CITY OF PORT PHILLIP
My cross-cultural heritage
influences me immensely – my father is Japanese and my mother is Australian. I love how both worlds are so incredibly different, yet they can co-exist together quite easily (in most cases). I want to learn more about Japanese culture and their art, in particular I would like to study the old woodblock prints. Caprine is the Latin name for a goat. The goat I have evoked in my work is abnormal. Schizoid and slightly crazy, this crazed caprine has large bulging eyes, a spidery beard whose winding hairs encroach on the proportions of the goats face and floating into the clouds. The goat is emblematic of how I feel sometimes - out of place, as if I am not ever quite in the right place at the right time. To scratch such emotions into a piece of copper is a satisfying process and a journey in itself. I hope that viewers of the work can understand and relate to this. It’s amazing how the process of art creation works to evolve both the artist and those who look at the finished work.
salG gnikooL eh
Jason Fujiwara
Crazed Caprine Thing
Etching 70 x 52.5cm, 2009, $190
Jason grew up around St Kilda and is currently studying Printmaking at RMIT. In 2008 he was part of an intensive folio enhancement program called Brighton Bay, covering photography, art history, painting, drawing, ceramics, 2D, 3D, printmaking and Photoshop/Illustrator skills. It was extremely intense. He decided he wanted to become a printmaker because he felt that prints could be manipulated and twisted further than painting or drawing could be, while at the same time combining all of those elements with a wide variety of mixed media. 21
he Looking Glas
Jim Grimwade VICTORIA - CITY OF PORT PHILLIP
Empty Street Ink on paper 43 x 50cm, 2008, $800
The illustrations
Jim is a young emerging artist who has lived both locally and travelled throughout Central America, Brazil, Europe and Morocco over the last five years. He is currently residing in North Carlton. He graduated a Bachelor of Contemporary Arts - Visual Arts with Distinction from Deakin University in 2007, and has produced artworks for private commissions and had his drawings and paintings exhibited in numerous group exhibitions around Melbourne.
of my current artistic practice are based on the urban landscape of inner Melbourne ranging from my home in the inner east to my workplace in the City of Port Phillip and everything in between. A significant motivation is to champion the artistic practice of drawing, specifically in the mediums of pen and pencil as a legitimate means to creating a finished product, rather than simply belonging to the preparatory process for a painting. In lieu of country landscapes of little relevance to the average Melbournian, my drawings create sites with their own stories to communicate through the perspective of streetscapes and architecture.
22
VICTORIA
Colleen completed art studies for her Diploma in 2009 and is actively pursuing establishing herself as an artist through exhibitions and competitions. She is now working from home and her continual search for development is currently more influenced by her daily life.
salG gnikooL eh
Colleen Guiney
Roadside Series 2
Mixed media 30 x 30cm , 2009, $250
My process
driven paintings explore the urban environment I live in. Traffic, multi storey buildings, road markings and a preoccupation with life in the inner-city are some of the references which permeate my works.
23
he Looking Glas
Lucy Hardie VICTORIA
Four Stages Of Suffering Ink and graphite on cotton paper 80 x 130cm, 2009, NFS
My work
is a reflection of my personal experiences in and of life. Preceding each piece is a story of mine, but it’s the one the viewer reads for her/himself that matters in the end. I seek simply to make the unseen seen. Whether manifesting as an expression of light or shadow, my intention while creating is to capture what may be arising in the moment. In doing so I hope to reveal the beauty inherent in every experience; a beauty that does not discriminate.
Primarily a self-taught artist, Lucy held a highly successful debut solo exhibition in Melbourne in 2007, which sold out on opening night. Since then she has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Melbourne and greater Victoria and her work has been reproduced into various mediums including prints, album cover designs and gift cards. After attending an Old Masters New Visions seminar in Austria in 2009, she began tutelage under American Visionary artist, Prof. Philip Rubinov Jacobson. Lucy is presently studying a BA in Illustration at NMIT. 24
VICTORIA - REPRESENTED BY KOZMINSKY LEVEL 1
salG gnikooL eh
Jacqui Henshaw
Kyoto Moon Photographic Image Archivally Inkjet printed onto Rag paper 132 x 163cm, 2008, $3200
This image
is part of an ongoing series entitled Travelling While Standing Still. I will always be constantly in awe of our ability to dream - the ability to escape, to leave the moment you are in and be transported far away through our imagination. There is a beauty in the instantaneousness of thought - no passport or the need to move your feet. Time travel, life travel and mind travel, these are all exhilarating. I am constantly excited by new ideas and ways of thinking.
Jacqui lives at Macedon but works from her studio in St Kilda. She discovered photography while studying fine art, falling in love with the magic of manipulating the image in the darkroom. She was captivated by the process and the privacy and space to think and slowly develop her work. Now the world of digital images has provided an alternative method and the ability to take command of every layer of colour and tone.
25
he Looking Glas
Caroline Ierodiaconou
Any Kind of Weather
Oil on canvas 122 x 61cm, 2009, $5000
26
VICTORIA
My works
are a meditation on the times in which we live, depicting humanity and this world as a fragmented and threatened species. At war with both itself and the rest of nature, humanity suffers. Many of my paintings show the battle between life and destruction. Life struggles to thrive and breathe as man comes to dominate, then obliterate the landscape. There is also a lighter, whimsical side to the work, representing the vulnerability, foibles and quirks of being human. Recent pieces reference a developing culture of unease and threat, global pandemics, environmental as well as current world issues. Each work also demonstrates the struggle to retain a separate entity in societies that are becoming increasingly generic. Caroline graduated from The Victorian College of The Arts in 2002 with a Fine Art Degree. She won numerous prizes while studying and after graduating she won The Leader Art Prize in the Toorak Festival of Sculpture. Caroline has exhibited widely in commercial and artist-run galleries including the Melbourne Art Fair as well as Platform art space. In 2009 she spent three months in Asia and in 2010 will return to Beijing with a three month residency at the Red Gate Gallery. Further exhibitions this year will include Melbourne City Library in April and Platform art space in November.
VICTORIA - CITY OF HOBSONS BAY
Lego pieces
provide limitless opportunities to construct and deconstruct objects, as motivated by an individuals creativity and imagination. This is the basis for building a unique Lego world. In today’s society as in Lego kit world, it seems that homes are built from repeatable plans and templates leaving little space for individualism. It’s much cheaper, easier and safer to follow a standard plan.
salG gnikooL eh
Chris Ingham
Bronze Lego Bronze 54 x 40 x 40cm, 2009, $5000
Chris was born in Adelaide 1974, moving to Melbourne 1999, where he has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows, working with the traditional mediums and methods of bronze sculpture and printmaking which led to a Collie Print Trust Scholarship in printmaking at Australian Print Workshop. During this time he worked full-time firstly as a scientific glass blower, then a foundry technician at Fundere Fine Art Foundry. He also teaches bronze casting at the Centre for Adult Education, all the while learning more about the whole process of lost wax casting, mould making and expanding his knowledge of other casting and sculpture practices. 27
he Looking Glas
Mehwish Iqbal NEW SOUTH WALES
Mehwish grew up in a village in Pakistan, where to be an artist was something unheard of. Against all odds, Mehwish attended the National College of Arts, graduating as a painter. An influence on her work has been the experience of living in three different and rich cultures from Pakistan to Dubai in the Middle East and now the multicultural society of Sydney in Australia, where she has lived for the past three and a half years. She is currently doing Masters at the College of Fine Arts from the University of NSW and pursuing opportunities to establish herself as a professional artist.
The Red Cube Etching/Colo graph 85 x 83cm, 2009, $1500
My work has always
been a comment on social issues and cultural norms. My latest work focuses on underprivileged children in the developing countries and seeks to raise awareness in the international community against the degradation of human life and lack of basic necessities. I work in a range of mediums from painting to printmaking and sculpture, and seek to innovate through non-traditional medias and an expanding visual vocabulary. As a printmaker, I have introduced the use of clothing patterns for printing. Fragility of the paper represents the deprivation of human souls around the world especially commenting on the war-like situation in Pakistan. I like to think of my work as a circle, one that has been intricately woven with colours and individual anecdotes.
28
VICTORIA
salG gnikooL eh
Josephine Jakobi
Ice Cream Horses Clay & Perspex 37 x 62 x 60cm (detail shown), 2010, $4000
My usual focus
is on the structures and building blocks of life on Earth. The patterns of repetition are a constant in my practice, and the use of clay is a recurring pleasure. This piece looks at the prepubescent girl’s passion for horses. The power of obsession is linked to the childish desire for instant gratification. The object of desire remains remote and disengaged.
Josephine is regional artist based in Gippsland who completed her Bachelor of Arts at Monash University in 1995 and is currently studying to complete her Masters Degree. She has an abiding interest in the natural environment and the patterns existing in ecological systems, and uses repetition as a means of reflecting these patterns and strengthening her visual presentations. The medium is usually natural materials and her practice includes leaving made art pieces in isolated places around Australia.
29
he Looking Glas
Megan Jones NEW SOUTH WALES
Megan began studying art in 2000, realising a lifelong dream by completing a Diploma of Fine Art at Sydney Gallery School and a Master of Studio Arts at Sydney University in 2005. In her earlier working life in human services, she thought a great deal about the meaning and purpose of life, and now uses traditional methods of painting to express her reflections on the human condition.
Home sweet home Oil on polycotton 80 x 100cm, 2010, $1100
My art
practice is conceptually based and realistic in form, combining both real and unreal elements that are metaphorical rather than literal. This work is from a series of paintings dealing with notions of utopia, which means both ‘good place’ and ‘no place’. Utopia embodies human aspirations for individual and social perfection as well as human failures along the way, reflecting the paradox between our capacity for abstract thinking and our more primitive emotions. This piece expresses both a reconciliation between these aspects of ourselves, and a recognition that happiness lies in doing simple everyday things together.
30
VICTORIA
Living in
and with the Victorian bush landscape has directly shaped my output as a painter. As a Japanese born Australian of Korean heritage, my life is a long sometimes challenging though rich and rewarding process of living and working at the intersection of several very different cultures. My painting style is informed by this unique mix of cultural backgrounds, and an ongoing interest in the (almost) invisible mystery behind things. I am also moved not only by the landscapes tenacity but also by its sadness. Its forms and textures often seem imbued with a tremendous life struggle.
salG gnikooL eh
Heja Jung
Light inside
Oil on canvas 107 x 77cm, 2009, $5400
Though of Korean heritage, Heja was born and educated in Japan. She came to Australia in her teens and studied ceramics at Monash University, Caulfield Campus in Melbourne, returning to Japan to complete her training under a master Bizan ceramic artist. On her return to Australia she received an Australia Council grant to establish the first Bizan kiln in Australia in bushland on the outskirts of Melbourne. For some fifteen years she created ceramic works that were exhibited widely and collected by many public institutions, including Parliament House. In the late 1990s she retrained at RMIT as a fine art painter. 31
he Looking Glas Ghetto Blaster
Aerosol paint & stencil on canvas 122 x 51cm, 2009, $1600
32
KA’a VICTORIA
For the viewer
of
Ghetto Blaster it is perhaps uncertain if the character in this painting is an African - American, Aboriginal or Asian. In either case the focus is on the character’s position within an urban culture, his own cultural heritage and his relationship to the land. Stencil based tropical palms and grasses overlap with tribal patterns and cultural motifs, both of which merge with the symbolic old-school, urban ghetto blaster. KA’a is a collaboration between two emerging artists currently based in Melbourne: Kirsty Furniss, a British stencil artist raised in Singapore - and Mathieu Augereau, a French painter. KA’a exhibits internationally, most recently in Toulouse, France and Singapore. Their artwork exists at the frontiers between painting and graffiti, abstract and figurative, aesthetic and social commentary. The techniques and tools used, such as stencils and spray paint, originate from the street art movement; they are combined with more traditional mediums of ink, graphite or oil. Inspiration for the settings and characters is drawn from Asia and Australia.
salG gnikooL eh
Nicholas Kallincos VICTORIA - CITY OF PORT PHILLIP
My work
primarily concerns the psychological aspects of human experience. How we navigate the real world with the imagined world and how our cognitive decisions are informed by our perceptions, intuitions and views. In recent years I have become profoundly interested in meditation practices and in particular the meeting points of western science and eastern philosophy. These themes are reflected in my current body of work. In addition to static works, I also work in the medium of animation. My animated and painted works freely share characters and other narrative elements.
The widow of free energy
Mixed media on canvas 91 x 66cm, 2009, $750
Nicholas completed his Ph.d in Biochemistry in 1996 at Adelaide University and worked as a research scientist for a number of years before leaving science to pursue studies in animation. In 2000 he moved to Melbourne and received a graduate diploma in Animation and Interactive Multimedia at RMIT University. Since this time, Nick has worked as a freelance illustrator/animator in Melbourne. His illustrations have regularly appeared in National magazines/ newspapers and he has received several commissions to produce animated content from both the ABC and SBS. In 2005 he received funding from Australian Film Commission to produce “The Luminary�, a 9 minute 22 second stop-motion animation. He has also maintained a painting practice from Parslow Street Sudios in Clifton Hill and has exhibited his work widely within Australia. 33
he Looking Glas
David-Ashley Kerr VICTORIA
I hear the river Lambda photographic print 94 x 154cm, 2009, $1500
In documenting
physical continuities in the landscape, I seek to critically address the relationship of man to environment, or rather, site. Consolidating both contemporary and historical time, I construct a landscape composition in which a typically lone figure is present, but not yet fully engaged with their surroundings, lingering in response to a contact beyond that of the physical constraints of the image and/or medium. In an attempt to challenge the viewer’s desire for definitive narrative, the purpose of each subject within the images is not fully revealed, no resolution is offered. The viewer must attempt to examine their individual purpose in the natural world, and realise their function in sustaining its integrity.
David-Ashley was raised on a dairy farm in South Gippsland, Victoria and has since travelled extensively in Europe and the Middle East. The propensity for his work to centre on man and nature stems from his rural upbringing, with its objective approach to the land and its nature opening up an alternative way of seeing. This is now represented through his highly constructed large-format camera compositions. He has close colleagues in Germany, regularly collaborating with artists from the state of Lower Saxony. He lives in Fitzroy with his partner and their two dogs and is currently studying a Master of Fine Art at RMIT University. 34
VICTORIA - CITY OF PORT PHILLIP
Constructing
artwork with my hands is an important part of my art practice. Traditional arts and crafts are and have been a major focus of my work throughout my life. A certain material or method of working will often find me and inspire me during the creative process. I am currently exploring the alternative photographic process of cyanotype from the 1850’s, and applying it onto the unconventional surface of parchment leather. From this, I’ve constructed a series of small dresses, shoes and objects relating to my childhood, creating my own personal narrative that delves into the fragments of time and traces of memories that I carry with me. Drawing on my interest in costume, clothing and adornment in general, and more specifically how it relates to gender and our social experiences, are issues that I am currently exploring.
salG gnikooL eh
Sue Manski
Betty, Lilly & Dot
Cyanotype on Kangaroo Vellum (leather) 55 x 20 x 20cm, 2010 $850 each including stand. Set of 3 POA
From an early age Sue developed her strong interest in creative pursuits. She originally trained in performing arts and for many years worked in theatre, through voice and movement based performance, set design and costuming. These experiences gave her a very specific set of tools to express her ideas in a narrative form, leading her towards a more conceptual based practice. In 2008, Sue obtained a Bachelor of Design Arts at the Australian Academy of Design in Port Melbourne and since graduating has begun exhibiting her works locally.
35
he Looking Glas
Kirsty Mayer
1984
Photographic image printed with UV ink on polymer, with recycled timber frame* 45 x 30cm, 2010, $730
Kirsty is an emerging photographic artist living in Yarraville. She has exhibited in the Hobsons Bay City Council’s SUB12 Exhibition at The Substation in Newport and in March her work will be included in the 2010 Art in Public Places project in Williamstown. She has studied at Photography Studies College and is a member of the Arts & Events Committee at The Substation.
VICTORIA - CITY OF HOBSONS BAY
My collections
typically depict industrial infrastructure and the urban environment and are intended to challenge viewers’ perceptions by moving away from photography’s conventional practice of precisely translating the three dimensional to paper. My pieces are presented on a variety of surfaces - wood, handmade papers, artists’ canvas, aluminium and polymer/stone. The images aim to challenge typical perceptions of the subject matter by inviting the viewer to find the beauty in the characteristically unattractive, the interest underlying the mundane, to interpret familiar scenes in a different way or to make discoveries in what is typically ignored.
Search for atonement
Photographic image printed with UV ink on polymer, with recycled timber frame* 50 x 76cm, 2010, $1080
* The images are printed using UV inks directly on to a polymer (stone) product which has a matt porcelain finish. It is fade resistant, strong, has a greater archival life than paper and canvas and requires no glass, which means no reflections. The images are tactile; texture and depth of field are accentuated. It is made predominantly from landfill material and framed with recycled timber, so for those who are carbon conscious, it has the bonus of being green. 36
VICTORIA - CITY OF PORT PHILLIP
My works
are all somewhat autobiographical as there is always a story or a dream or an event in my life that is the seed. This initially simple work is intended to draw the viewer in and challenge their perceptions. The viewer’s eye is guided in an anti-clockwise direction. Some will find it difficult to focus, but the faster you look, the more you will find a sort of hypnotic calm. Solace.
salG gnikooL eh
Bradley O’Connor
Solace Mixed media on board 106 x 82cm, 2010, $2000
Bradley attended St George Art School and graduated in 2000 with an Advanced Diploma of Fine Arts. He has exhibited in Melbourne and Sydney and in 2003 was hung in the Archibald Prize ‘Salon des refuse’. In 2008 he was awarded first prize in the Paint the Streets art competition in Elwood and last year held his fourth solo exhibition.
37
he Looking Glas
Carlo Pagoda VICTORIA
Many Parts
Mixed media 100 x 100cm, 2010, $850
Carlo was born in Italy in 1956, but came to Australia when he was three and grew up in Adelaide where he studied graphic design. In 1987 he went to London and worked as a graphic designer before moving to the USA where he worked as a creative director in San Francisco for twelve years. In 2001 he returned to Australia and now lives and works in Melbourne as a graphic designer, but has also actively pursuing his art practice through various exhibitions including The Toorak Village Festival of Sculpture and shows at Yarra Sculpture Gallery, Linden Gallery and Anita Traverso Gallery in Richmond. 38
I have always been
interested in all the different things that define us as individuals. The seen and unseen, the known and unknown, the good, the not so good, our strengths and our shortcomings; the things we acknowledge and those we don’t face up to.
salG gnikooL eh
Ilarui Norian Paicu VICTORIA
Fractures Wood, copper wire, steel & perspex 170 x 230 x 40cm, 2009, $18,000
My work explores mythology
, nature, morality
and the human condition. Coming from a country with a totalitaristic regime, with thick boxed borders, where the finest cracks were knitted instantly with thick wire, the claustrophobia of the spirit was reality. The metamorphosis of life is trapped in the stitches, mirroring the process of adaptation of a migrant, from a completely controlled and predestined environment to a natural and free life. Norian was born in Romania, where he studied at the National Art Academy Bucharest specialising in ceramics, glass and metals. Following graduation he participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally. In 1999 he and his wife decided to emigrate to Australia. A period of adjustment and the arrival of his to two children imposed eight years of art abstinence. In 2008 he was accepted to do his Masters in Sculpture at Monash University, and was very happy to return to his art.
39
he Looking Glas
Donn Pattenden VICTORIA
Sushi-zume (Packed in Like Sushi)
Limited edition digital print on archival bamboo fibre paper 44 x 48cm, 2009, $450
This is a signed, numbered limited edition print on archival bamboo fibre paper. It has been framed with hand-finished, environmentally sustainable Australian timber
My current
Donn graduated from Media Arts at the then Rusden campus of Deakin University and worked as a multimedia artist for small studios in Melbourne before moving to Sydney to train and work as a traditional animator at Walt Disney. There he studied at the renowned Julian Ashton Art School. After leaving Disney, he began to branch out into illustration and went to work in Kobe, Japan, for three years, where he was inspired by cultural landscapes both traditional and modern. He studied Japanese ink painting and since returning to Melbourne has developed an interest in combining traditional and digital media in a way which refers to both forms without being limited by either. More of his works can be viewed at http://donnpattenden.com.
work expresses themes related to over-population and over-consumption in an often satirical manner. Japan is noted as a land of contrasts. The austere, compartmentalised world of the traditional culture struggles to contain a wild, modern world of technology and foreign influences. Travelling by subway in Tokyo, it is hard to believe that Japan is depopulating. Is this a country which is consuming itself?
40
VICTORIA
Mothers Oil on canvas 100 x 150cm, 2009, $3000
“Mothers”
salG gnikooL eh
María Peña
belongs to a series of paintings entitled Spaces for the Memory - remembrances and oblivions of home, through which I intend to recall a lost or forgotten home. The intention through this artwork is to portray a narrative of displacement and dispossession that could act as a metaphor for the internal experiences of those whose cultural certainties have been uprooted: immigrants, exiles or refugees.
María began her career while studying painting and ceramics at the art school “Academia Superior de Artes” in Bogotá, Colombia (her country of origin), where she graduated as a fine artist. Since this time Maria has dedicated her life to painting, specifically to the technique of oil painting on canvas. In 2003 she travelled to Australia in order to develop a postgraduate project in visual arts. Since this year she has exhibited in collective shows in Melbourne and Wollongong. This work depicted identities in transit, immigration and borders, hybrid languages, and new cultures, focusing in the Latin-American Diaspora. While she has been a dedicated artist for over ten years, she has only recently begun to focus on exhibiting her work in Australia. 41
he Looking Glas
Dominique Plumanns
Hands
Wool, digitally printed fabric & silk 46 x 26cm variable, 2009, NFS
VICTORIA
I am very interested
in the nature of tapestry weave and of its meditative qualities. To me it has an archaic and primordial quality that allows strands of life to be woven into a whole. Hands expresses the Aboriginal Law as taught to us by MinMia, a Wirradjirri woman, educator and healer; “when born on the land we are of the land and we are responsible for the land.� Hands symbolises that for those born on a land, whatever colour or race, the responsibility as keepers of the land is a shared one. This gives us the hope and gift of belonging, the belief that together we have the knowledge to heal and survive. As an integral part of this I am interested in the reconciliation and connection between the original inhabitants of Australia and its newcomers.
Originally from France, Dominique moved to England at the age of nineteen, pursuing personal and creative development. Her search for the understanding of human relationships with each other and with their environment led to studies in sociology and psychology. She moved to Australia eight years ago and it was here she began to study toward her art practice, firstly in textile design at RMIT and currently as a fine arts student at Monash University. Her art practice has provided new tools for her investigations, seeking ways to express unconscious patterns and issues of political interest and concern in a non-judgemental way. While her artworks make statements they mainly poses questions for the viewer to think about. 42
VICTORIA
Jackie completed her Bachelor of Fine Art in 1988 at Victoria College. Almost immediately she began to travel visiting galleries in Europe and America. She lived in London and New York maintaining a studio practice in both cities. After a period of prolonged private studio work, she returned to Europe in 1996 for three months and New York for two weeks, solely for the purpose of visiting galleries. In 1998 she moved to Japan. There, she developed an interest in Sumo wrestling forms culminating in a short show in Kyoto in 2002. In 2004 she returned to school, completing a Graduate Diploma followed by her Masters at the Victorian College of the Arts.
salG gnikooL eh
Jackie Ralph
Galloping Horse
Oil on Linen 120 x 120cm, 2009, $1500
Removal from
context is a theme that runs through my work. Whether human or animal, I remove the form from its original setting, from what makes it make sense, and re-locate it in a space that does not reference any particular time or place. The horse has been taken from the race and isolated in order to focus attention on it alone, away from the trappings of the horse race. The horse is disconnected from its natural self and subjugated for man’s enjoyment. This disconnection is emphasized through a series of disconnections: rider from horse, horse from race and horse into a white non-referential space.
43
he Looking Glas Danse Macabre
Carmen Reid Danse Macabre VICTORIA
is an uncanny celebration of life. The work is largely derived from the zombie narratives of popular culture, and both allegories and documented accounts of people dancing to their deaths in medieval Europe. Both are concerned with folklore, mythical origins, mania and the uncertain boundaries that divide life from death. It parodies these opposing notions by depicting a woman seemingly transfixed by the ambiguous coiled form rising from the ground before her. Like a spasm of animated technology the form alludes to electrical devices, giving the impression of a surplus of energy suppressed within a defined form, such as the force contained within a brooding storm cloud or tornado.
(detail work in progress) Steel wool, steel, timber 155x150x100cm dimensions variable 2010, $6000
Huddle
is a re-configuration of a found door and doorframe. The gentle curve of the doorway was arrived at by considering the arced trajectory a door follows as it swings open and closed. The door has a bodily presence suggesting it may have been curved from the sustained presence of a figure sheltering in the doorway. It represents a body of work that denote forms derived from domestic architecture whose appearance sits somewhere between real and imagined space as physical manifestations of figments of the imagination.
Carmen completed a Fine Art Degree with Honours in 2009. Her practice is predominantly sculptural but informed by drawing as a tool for observation and problem solving. She is interested in a diverse range of themes and processes and employs an intuitive approach to materials to discern the best outcome for each work. An ongoing interest in tactility and the representation and suggestion of movement plays a key role in her motivations as an artist. She is a member of the Pigeon Hole Studios in Brunswick and began showing her works in group exhibitions over the past few years. She was recently awarded the Williamstown Festival Contemporary Art Prize. 44
Huddle
Re-configured found door & doorframe 200x110x80cm (depth variable) 2008, $2500
VICTORIA - CITY OF HOBSONS BAY
Fishing at ‘The Warmies’, Newport
salG gnikooL eh
Carmel Riordan
Inkjet Print on Museo Silver Rag Archival Paper 55 x 66cm, 2009, $385
Newport locals
(and people from further afield) know that when the smoke streams from the Newport Power Station stack, the station is pumping electricity, and its water waste is flowing from pipes into the waterway alongside the shipping channels, near Newport Park. The water here is warm - attracting the fish – and fisherman! This photograph is from my ongoing series The Mighty West, of images and stories from Melbourne’s inner west.
Carmel is a writer and photographer who completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Fine Arts (Art History) at the University of Melbourne in 1997. She worked at an art gallery for several years but has gradually developed her practice as a self-taught photographer. As a resident of Melbourne’s inner west for the past sixteen years she has come to know and love the landscape, and her artistic challenge is to seek unique beauty in the familiar, to inspire the viewer to see their world in a new way. She currently exhibits and sells her photos every month at the Substation Arts Market in Newport. 45
he Looking Glas
Nadja Slovak VICTORIA
blindlight DVD (Monochromatic) 4 minutes duration, 2009, NFS (image still shown)
I am drawn
to interior spaces: enclosed, emptied; spaces with a view. Beguiled by the movement of light over time, I want to capture and hold still the moment /movement and to look at it unhurriedly, wondering about the story that is not-a-story, told by the light and the space. This digital recording of found natural light phenomena and ambient sounds create a psychological field of action; where art, design and narrative elements, principles and theories intersect and narrative possibilities are suggested, but not certain.
Nadja trained and worked as a primary school teacher but has always had an interest in art and design and in 1992 commenced studies in Interior Design at RMIT. In 1994 she transferred to The Technical University of Brno, in The Czech Republic where she discovered her passion for video and multimedia. In 1997 she returned to Melbourne due to a medical crisis, eventually returning to teaching, but her love of art resurfaced and she completed a Graduate Diploma in Art in PublicSpace at RMIT in 2004, followed by her Master in Fine Art in 2009. 46
VICTORIA
Worlds within Worlds
explores the scientific examination of microcosms within macrocosms in order to have a greater understanding of the earth. In a global community that has a heightened awareness of climate change, global warming and ecological extinction; perception of the natural world is constantly shifting. The microscope and telescope reveal worlds within worlds, innately reflecting one another in shape, form and structure.
salG gnikooL eh
Jasmine Targett
Worlds Within Worlds
Hand blown, cut, polished & dichroic glass Custom metal frame plinth with opaline perspex top 120 x 75 x 75cm, 2009, POA
Jasmine has a full time studio based practice and is in her seventh year of study in fine arts, currently completing a Masters at Monash University based in glass and installation practice. For the past four years she has been exhibiting in both solo and group exhibitions nationally. In 2009 she was a finalist in the Senini Sculpture Award at McClelland Gallery and is currently working on a research project with scientific ozone research collated by the EOS (Earth Observing System) satellite in conjunction with NASA, CBS glass industries and CSIRO Australia. 47
he Looking Glas
Matt Tsourdalakis VICTORIA
I hate this and… Everybody’s gotta learn sometime and… I wake up everyday Film 1024x576 widescreen, 2009, NFS (image stills shown)
Matt completed his Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design at the Australian Catholic University in 2009. He also entered into an arts competition at the Frankston Arts Centre called “Sound/Silence” and won a three-week exhibition in March/April 2010, an exciting opportunity for his first solo exhibition without the support of a tertiary or schooling organisation.
48
This is a stop animation
that tells the story of a young man who is desperately trying to find his purpose in life. The further he journeys the more he realizes that the path he walks is part of a plan unknown to man. He looks forward to the end of his days when he leaves this place and when all secrets will be revealed.
VICTORIA
These pieces
are the culmination of a year of experimentation with text and form. As I move towards more sculptural work, themes of recollection and memory emerge. The passage from Prousts ‘Remembrance of things past’ is recurrent in my work in both the French and English. The extract illustrates the idea of ‘Proustian memory’ as memory containing the ‘essence’ of the past that in this case unlocks the past of the narrator. The water stones are simple natural stone forms loosely based on Japanese water basins. In these pieces my aim is to make simple objects for contemplation and reflection.
salG gnikooL eh
Ingrid Tufts
emembering
Porcelain - 3 porcelain waterstones approx 10 x 27cm diam each 2010, $480 group
Ingrid always knew she wanted to make things with clay, since having great experiences with clay as a child, but ended up with a degree and career in IT. About five years ago she joined a studio co-operative on the weekends and to gain more understanding of art and design, studied at TAFE for a few years part time. Over the past year her work has become less functional and more sculptural. She enjoys the challenge presented by the technical aspects of the craft and playing with the juxtaposition of the sharpness of machine and computer manipulated imagery – with the softness, variation and hand made quality of porcelain.
49
he Looking Glas
Justin Tumilaar VICTORIA - CITY OF HOBSONS BAY
Scraphead shapes
Acrylic & enamel on MDF 120 x 90cm, 2010, $1200
Justin lived in Laverton and Altona all his life until recently moving to Brunswick and now Carlton North. He has studied and worked in printing and graphic design and in 2007, was selected as a Young Ambassador for the National Gallery of Victoria. He has strong connections to the arts and youth of Hobsons Bay, sitting on many local public artwork advisory committees, including Hobsons Bay Youth Voice and co-ordinating street art workshops for local youth. 50
I am interested
in composition and layering contrasting techniques and patterns. This piece was worked on and off for most of 2009. My interests in graphic design, graffiti, colour, and mediums, had evolved over the year and the work reveals the evolution. For 2010 I’ve moved my practise in to a dedicated studio and plan to hold a solo exhibition by the end of the year.
VICTORIA
My practice
presents images of absurdity and irony, which are generated by subverting forms with inherent optimistic qualities.
salG gnikooL eh
Gary Walker
Quack
Acrylic on linen 51 x 41cm, 2010, $650
Gary completed a Bachelor of Design in 2007 and is currently pursuing a Master of Architecture at RMIT University. He has been painting consistently for seven years while studying and working in these related fields, which has allowed him to avoid destitution while he develops his practice.
51
he Looking Glas
Gail Willoughby VICTORIA - CITY OF HOBSONS BAY
Gail was born in Melbourne and has been a resident of Hobsons Bay for the past fifteen years. In 1977 she completed a BA in Fine Arts (painting) at RMIT and a Graduate Diploma in Art Education at the State College of Victoria in 1979. While she has participated in many exhibitions over the years, she still considers herself an emerging artist, forever following her inspiration and developing her practice.
The Kayaker Acrylic on canvas 60 x 76cm, 2009, $1000
Strong shapes
, colour and images from my everyday, familiar environment usually provide a starting point for my work. At present I have moved away from the more abstract and experimented with acrylics to work instantaneously to create strong imagery that has captured my interest from the media. In this work I wish to convey the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness, isolation, loneliness and fear when faced with the inevitable by Andrew McAuley, the lone kayaker on his personal quest navigating from Australia to New Zealand.
52
VICTORIA - CITY OF PORT PHILLIP
Nature Call
salG gnikooL eh
Ming-Tim Yek
Ink & colour on rice paper 48 x 106cm, 2008, $450
It is my intention
to introduce the concept of modern Chinese ink painting in Australia and to share and exchange ideas with those interested in this form of painting. The brush technique and application of colour bring out the vividness of an object, expressing a unique idea of creativity and harmony. This painting was created with an impulse of expressing nature and the visual perception of movement and space.
Yek Ming Tim came from Hong Kong and his early education and career was in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and Telecommunications. He started painting in 1987 and completed courses at Hong Kong Polytechnic and Hong Kong University, continuing to pursue further the technique of ink painting under the guidance of Mr. Chui Chi Hung. Regular exhibitions opened up and avenue for him to explore new ideas and expressions in art painting beyond the traditional format and texture. Besides regular exhibitions and activities including lecturing in Hong Kong, his paintings have also been exhibited in USA, Japan, Beijing and various cities in China. Since coming to Australia he has become a volunteer instructor in Chinese Ink Painting at the University of the Third Age in the City of Port Phillip. 53
Sales Enquiries
for any of the works in the catalogue can be made by contacting the curator Ken Wong on 0419 570 846 or via email info@watcharts.com.au
If you are interested becoming involved in the
Toyota Community Spirit Gallery program or wish to be added to our mailing list to be kept informed of upcoming events, email info@watcharts.com.au or visit www.watcharts.com.au/toyota.html or phone 03 58214548
IMAGE Deer Mansion (detail) Li-Kim Chuah, Type C Photograph 45x 38.5cm 2009 IMAGE BACK COVER 1984 (detail) Kirsty Mayer, Photograph printed on polymer 45x30cm 2009
in