Toyota Community Spirit Gallery presents
METAPHYSICS an exhibition of indoor & outdoor sculpture exploring time, place & the human condition
Toyota Australia 155 Bertie Street Port Melbourne Victoria 3207
7 September to 2 December 2005 Gallery Hours Thu & Fri 1pm to 6pm or by appointment Inquiries ( Ken Wong 03 9690 0902
an exhibition of indoor & outdoor sculpture exploring time, place & the human condition
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 more than 100 local artists. Toyota has worked with the Contemporary Sculptors Association, Hobsons Bay City Council and the City of Port Phillip on this project.
METAPHYSICS
an exhibition of indoor & outdoor sculpture exploring time, place & the human condition
Sculptors Don Barrett Drasko Boljevic Megan Campbell James Cattell Julie Collins Dalia Konstantin Dimopoulos Stefan Gevers Anton Hasell Jeremy Hawkes Martin Hodge William Holt Derek John Tracey Koolen
Joanne Linsdell Nadia Mercuri Ruv Nemiro Sandra O'Dea Geoffrey Ricardo Jason Roche Luke Rogers Vida Sobott Brendon Taylor Jason Waterhouse David Waters Peter Watson Gunther Wilhelm Ben Wrigley
Curator Ken Wong
Thanks to Katarina Persic, Hobsons Bay City Council Sharyn Dawson, City of Port Phillip Julie Collins, Contemporary Sculptors Association Cath Templeton, Toyota Australia
Invitation & Catalogue Design Watch Arts
METAPHYSICS
Ken Wong Curator
This exhibition launches the second year of operation for the Toyota Community Spirit Gallery and is a ground breaking project from several points of view. It is the first exhibition dedicated to sculpture and as a consequence, will for the first time, incorporate outdoor areas as part of the exhibition space. It has also created an opportunity to forge a new and active working partnership with the Contemporary Sculptors Association and is the first exhibition to broaden its base from local artists to artists based anywhere in the state of Victoria. The aim of the exhibition is to promote, progress and document the diversity and excellence of sculpture practice in Victoria. METAPHYSICS features the works of 28 artists and I am very pleased to say that from my perspective, the aim has been achieved. One of the things that continually amazes me in my role as a curator is the way that common threads arise when sorting and selecting works for an exhibition of this nature. One of the challenges I face is to select an appropriate title, something that will place the diverse artworks in a cohesive context that will help people to recognise and comprehend that common thread. In this case, the process was far from easy and I spent many hours with my trusty dictionary trying to find ‘that’ word. It was a strange process because I knew the thread was a strong and interesting one; but what to call it? Then I suddenly hit upon the word metaphysics and suddenly it all made sense. My trusty Heinemann Australian Dictionary lists the word metaphysics as ‘the study of questions that cannot be answered in factual terms’. I cannot think of a better word to describe sculpture, or for that matter the practice of art in general. Our society needs our artists now more than ever because they are the ones who think in terms of the deepest of deep thoughts, who question and express our intangible emotions and feelings. We live in a world where everything is about quantity, how much, how far, how high? The strange thing is that at the end of the day it is the intangible, the unquantifiable, the touch of a lovers hand, the freshness of a spring morning, a smile from the face of a stranger that more than anything else defines us as human beings and the quality of the life we all share on this planet. For all that is said and studied and written about it, the practice of art is not an exacting science. And thank goodness for that. But a science it is nonetheless. Welcome to METAPHYSICS.
Biography Ken Wong is the Director of Watch Arts, a Melbourne based contemporary arts consultancy. He has worked in the fine arts industry since 1997 in both commercial and community arts, curating and managing a host of projects including gallery and outdoor sculpture exhibitions. He is a founding member of Southside Arts, an industry body in the City of Port Phillip consisting of 20 local galleries and is currently the curator of the Toyota Community Spirit Gallery.
METAPHYSICS
sculptors & works Don Barrett Taboo Lagoon
Drasko Boljevic Baby
Megan Campbell Shimmer
James Cattell Polythemus
Julie Collins & Derek John Museum Piece
Dalia
Aim to Please
Konstantin Dimopoulos Firebird
Stefan Gevers Landscapes (x2)
Anton Hasell The Waler
Jeremy Hawkes
Gus’ sometimes sadness
Martin Hodge
Tower of Two Wings and Flowers
William Holt
A Million Emotions (1 to 5)
Tracey Koolen
Search for new horizons
Joanne Linsdell
Tangle Mac in wax, design classic no.1
Nadia Mercuri
Laser Light Beam Series I Laser Light Beam Series II Alien Pacifier
Ruv Nemiro Torso
Sandra O'Dea Sisters
Geoffrey Ricardo Emblem
Aluminium
2004
$11,950
page 6
Wood
1995
NFS
page 7
Safety pins, Perspex
2005
$4000
page 8
Metal, ceramic, glass
2004
$3400
page 9
Stone, moss, plants, sand, steel
2005
$1100
page 10
Wood, fibreglass
2002
$4000
page 11
Polyurethane resin, concrete
2005
POA
page 12
Felt, MDF, thread, acrylic paint
2003
$1850
page 13
44-gallon drums, welded steel
1990
$25,000
page 14
Timber
1995
$2800
page 15
Steel, fibreglass, fabric
2004
$15,000
page 16
Mixed Media
2005
$150 each
page 17
Metal & clay
2003
$6000
page 18
Wax, wire, plastic tube Wax
2005 2003
$1200 $800
page 19
Blown glass Blown glass, cast glass Blown glass
2004 2005 2005
$1980 $1980 $900
page 20
Ceramic, acrylic
2005
$1800
page 21
Mixed media
2004
$3000
page 22
Bronze
2003
$20,000
page 23
METAPHYSICS
Jason Roche Watching
Luke Rogers The Scavenger
Vida Sobott
Ground to a halt in no-man’s land
Brendon Taylor Growth
Jason Waterhouse Pod
David Waters The Set
Peter Watson Curved Spine
Gunther Wilhelm Turtle Dream No. 1
Ben Wrigley The Garden
Limestone
2005
$300
page 24
Mild steel
2005
$1800
page 25
Ceramic, engobe, wood, metal, mixed media
2004
$3750
page 26
Mixed media
2004
$3500
page 27
Motor car body, steel, polyester filler, 2004 fibreglass
$30,000
page 28
Concrete
2005
$8000
page 29
Hebel with rusted iron base
2005
$950
page 30
Steel, perspex, industrial paint, wood 2003
$9900
page 31
Wood, paint
$8900
page 32
2005
outdoor sculpture map
1. 2. 3. 4.
Jason Waterhouse Konstantin Dimopoulos David Waters Tracey Koolen
5. Anton Hasell 6. Julie Collins & Derek John 7. Martin Hodge
METAPHYSICS
Don Barrett
Taboo Lagoon Aluminium, 2004 120 x 140 x 50cm
Don was born in 1946 and was a carpenter for many years before becoming a trade teacher. He is a self-taught artist who has pursued this interest from a very early age. In 1977 he won the Preston and Northcote Community Hospital prize for sculpture judged by the Director of the National Gallery and was a finalist in the Shell sculpture exhibition at the Westpac Gallery in 1985. Over the past few years he has found more time for his practice and has exhibited regularly and had work accepted for several sculpture competitions. Artist Statement Most of my sculpture is contemporary abstract comprising of shape, form, colour and texture but sometimes during the creative process figurative shapes appear. I work intuitively, allowing the work itself to dictate the final outcome.
6
METAPHYSICS
Drasko Boljevic
Baby Wood, 1995 60 x 30 x 30cm
Drasko lives in East St Kilda but was born in the former Yugoslavia in 1969. He completed his degree in Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb, Croatia and became a participant of the “Modern Times” anti-war arts movement which gave him recognition to participate in the ‘Ten most Talented European Sculptors’ exhibition in the city of Labin in 1992. He migrated to Australia in 1993 and graduated as a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in Sculpture at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1997. The same year he opened in partnership Azibi Gallery in St Kilda, an art space for non-established artists which operated until 2001. In 2002 he exhibited the sculpture installation One Year September 11 at Deep 11. He has continued to exhibit at a variety of venues including Lentil as Anything, Big Mouth Cafe and Dante’s Gallery and was part of the 2004 Melbourne Fringe Furniture Show. As a sculptor he has worked on a number of different projects including the Myers Christmas Windows and is also a puppet maker for the Malthouse Theatre. He is currently working in a new project of miniature sculptures that deal with the notion of the alter-reality. Artist Statement This sculpture is part of a family of works created between 1994 and 1995 which deal with the theme of immigration and the feelings attached to landing in a new, unknown country. After struggling to recognize a new environment and his own identity, Drasko was finally reborn in this crying baby figure.
7
METAPHYSICS
Megan Campbell
Shimmer Safety pins, perspex, 2005 90 x 60 x 60cm
Megan lives at Woodend and has been exhibiting her works since 1989. In 1992 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Sculpture) from the Victorian College of the Arts and completed her Masters at the Department of Fine Arts at Monash University in 2003. Her works are represented in various public and private collections in Australia. Artist Statement The material selected for use in this artwork has it’s own intrinsic nature and common/domestic usage. These meanings and the contradictions of use add to the voice and story that can be read. The familiar triggers the viewer’s personal memories and associations with material and form. The tension between beauty and banality of material is explored, as in the rich colour and intense pattern of the safety pins.
8
METAPHYSICS
James Cattell
Polythemus (detail) Metal, ceramic, glass, 2004 115cm x variable
James lives in St Kilda but grew up in Wellington, New Zealand. As his family did not own a TV and the winters were cold, he spent much of his time in his bedroom drawing, writing and making models. For ten years he earned a living as a puppeteer and street performer, until starting his own art business in 1988. Over the past seventeen years he has produced a multitude of painted works and sculpture for the design, film, television and advertising industries as well as large scale commissioned works for public spaces. He has also worked on community development projects and had three illustrated children’s books published. Throughout this time he has also continued to create and exhibit works from his own studio practice. Artist Statement In a world obsessed with standards of beauty, the story of the besotted cyclops ‘Polythemus’ strikes a sympathetic cord. This piece may eventually form part of a museum of optical curiosities. It’s single eye gives an insight into a private world in the same manner as nineteenth century peep shows did. The sculpture thus operates on two levels: the outer object, and the inner space of the lonely voyeur.
9
METAPHYSICS
Julie Collins & Derek John
Museum Piece Stone, moss, plants, sand, steel, 2005 40 x 200 x 200cm
Julie completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Victoria College, Prahran in 1987. In 1997 she was the founding member and Chairperson of the Contemporary Sculptors Association Inc (CSA), an artist run organization which has developed and manages Yarra Sculpture Gallery in Abbottsford. In 2005 she re-joined the committee as chair to help develop a feasibility study into the possible relocation to the Abbotsford Convent site, developing a national sculpture centre in Melbourne with studios, galleries, library, community programs and education facilities. She has participated in over 50 exhibitions and has been a curator, lecturer, studio co-ordinator, writer and government advisor in public art development and urban design, including initiating the Herring Island Environmental Sculpture Park. Her works are held in collections nationally including the National Gallery of Victoria. Recently she has been collaborating with her husband Derek John who has run his own business for 20 years, specialising in architectural steel construction and design. Derek has great technical skill and engineering know how and his love for construction and urban design works perfectly with Julie’s concepts of contrasting the natural with the built environment, drawing attention to the fine line we tread in our treatment of the environment as we go about the everyday. Artist Statement As the urban sprawl takes hold, a common complaint about this new built environment is the apparent lack of green, of natural landscape and trees. As unfounded as this criticism may or may not be, it is a part of the human condition to crave green. Yet as a society we systemically go about destroying it, with only a few paying attention to the long term effects of such loss. ‘Museum Piece’ draws attention to these issues. Physically it is a mini landscape within a steel cage with lawn, rocks and water. The landscape, obviously man made, is protected/restricted from the outside. The viewer can only engage with the environment by sight beyond the steel grid abstracting the experience. The landscape of the future, a museum piece.
10
METAPHYSICS
Dalia
Aim to Please Wood, fibreglass, 2002 80 x 40 x 24cm
Born in 1949, Dalia migrated to Australia as a baby with her Lithuanian parents and was raised and educated in Melbourne. In 1991 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from RMIT University, completing her Masters in 1996. She has exhibited widely since the early nineties in group and solo exhibitions, receiving numerous awards for painting and sculpture and has also completed private commissions and given public lectures. Her works are held in public and private collections in Australia and Lithuania. She is married, has three sons and lives in North Balwyn. Artist Statement My work is a narrative, an appreciation and a commentary on life from a woman’s perspective. Art is one of the fibres that illuminates life, born from the echo of artistic thought. I find the female world is of love and ritual. As a practising artist I am surrounded both physically and mentally by three constraints – home, family, studio. It is the juggling of these and the objectification of my experiences that challenges me.
11
METAPHYSICS
Konstantin Dimopoulos
Firebird Polyurethane resin, concrete, 2005 6 x 1.8m
Kon was born in Port Said in Egypt. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand and has recently moved to Melbourne. His powerful and dramatic works explore transformation and change in relation to location and cultural reference and are influenced by the spirit of place and those who inhabit it, reminding us all of our own small place in the environment. His kinetic sculptures are iconic but also intimate, inviting people to interact both visually and where the site allows, physically. Kon wants people to touch and experience his art. In 2004 he won the Kinetic Art Organisation international competition for public sculpture and also the 2002 Wellington Civic Initiative award for sculpture. He was recently awarded a Celebrate Victoria grant from Arts Victoria to create a major public artwork for the City of Melbourne that will be in place during the Commonwealth Games in 2006. He is also a finalist in an international competition to create a major public artwork for the City of Chicago. Artist Statement Firebird is an environmental sculpture. It is kinetic, moved by people and the wind. Through the use of colour and movement it explores both the natural beauty inherent in the Australian red landscape that is central to the identity of this nation, and the spirit of Victoria. The work is inspired by the mythology that is so strong and relevant to this remarkable red landscape. It's this mystery that I search to give voice in my work, to convey the emotion through the material, through the vision. Firebird is a sculpture with an element of magic, evoking a spiritual reference to the landscape and the ecology of Victoria.
12
METAPHYSICS
Stefan Gevers
Landscapes (detail) Felt, MDF, thread, acrylic paint, 2003 (2 x) 40 x 30 x 15cm
Stefan was born in 1968 in The Netherlands where he studied Visual Arts and Mixed Media at the A.K.I. School of Arts in Enschede. In 1993 he embarked on a life changing journey with the idea to travel through New Zealand and Australia for three months. After obtaining permanent residency, he lived in New Zealand for two years before coming to Melbourne in 1995. Working from the Ovens Street Studios in Brunswick since 2000, he has predominately been using felt as his main media. He has exhibited in Australia and The Netherlands in group and solo exhibitions and his works are held in the National Australia Bank, Artbank and numerous private collections. He currently lives in Newport with his wife and daughter. Artist Statement My work is based on bringing industrial inspired forms into a modern interior, creating an androgynous tone by using the tactile qualities of felt, playing with or against these modern forms. This piece is based on a simple notion; the earth is round and occasionally wobbles. The right balance is important!
13
METAPHYSICS
Anton Hasell
The Waler 44-gallon drums, welded steel, 1990 2.2 x 2.4 x 1.2m
Anton is a sculptor who has completed a number of significant public space commissioned artworks including the Federation Bells Carillon and the Victoria Police Memorial in Melbourne. He is currently creating a major interpretive sculpture for the Ballarat Eureka Stockade Park. He holds a Ph.D (Architecture & Design, RMIT University) by thesis on public space design and a Masters degree in Fine Arts from the Victorian College of the Arts. Anton has lectured in sculpture at a number of Victorian Art Schools. As a director of Australian Bell Pty Ltd and co-inventor of the harmonic bell, Anton is continuing his research into new bell applications and other sculptural expressions for his contemporary public space design practice. Artist Statement This Australian horse sculpture has been constructed using spare 44-gallon steel drums cut and welded into the noble form. In its form and in its construction method, this sculpture sings the praise of the robust brumbies and walers able to prosper in a ancient and unrelenting land. I rather think these animals are the true symbols of our own defiant and steadfast survival here and show us that the path forward requires a comparative resilience of us all.
14
METAPHYSICS
Jeremy Hawkes
Gus’ sometimes sadness Timber, 1995 130 x 30 x 20cm
Jeremy was born in Papua New Guinea and has lived in Northern Territory, Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales and New Zealand. He currently resides in North Fitzroy and has recently completed post-graduate qualifications in sculpture at Victorian College of the Arts. He has exhibited extensively throughout Australia and New Zealand and is represented in numerous private collections, completing many private commissions and achieving a high level of success in recent years. In 2000 he studied traditional stone and wood carving in Mahabalipuram in Southern India and is currently engaged in further study in Darjeeling, India.
15
METAPHYSICS
Martin Hodge
Tower of Two Wings and Flowers Steel, fibreglass, fabric, 2004 4 x 3 x 1m
Martin lives in Northcote but took his Bachelor of Visual Arts from the University of Western Sydney in 1990, completing a Graduate Diploma in Sculpture at the University of Newcastle in 1992. He has exhibited widely since 1989 throughout New South Wales, Victoria and New Zealand and completed various commissions. In 2003 he was the winner of the Moreland Sculpture Show. Artist Statement This work is the second in a series of towers that were exhibited in the Moreland Sculpture show 2003 and the Montalto Sculpture Prize in 2004. These sculptures are kinetic and take on the qualities of a windpowered machine with their rising and falling wings. They are in some ways hybrid creatures capturing the wind with a cloak of flowers.
16
METAPHYSICS
William Holt
A Million Emotions (1 of 5) Mixed media, 2005 30 x 20 x 20cm
William lives in Bentleigh and was born in Melbourne in 1968. He was raised in a creative family and was originally a self taught painter inspired by the urban architectural environment. He now works with abstract imagery inspired through free and experimental expression and is currently undertaking his Masters of Fine Art at Monash University. Teaching at Osare Gallery has added to his experience and development as an artist and recently three dimensional sculptural projects which include spontaneous and found materials and objects have further expanded his base of art making. The documentation of works outside the gallery has also opened the medium of photography to his growing repertoire. Artist Statement The body has become the subject for this series of works. We identify with the physical immediately, compulsively, sensationally. My impulse comes from the toys I come across and their open ended narrative strength. I enjoy my work to have a humour that is often the initial reaction. A surface reading of these sculptural pieces on introduction plays like a sweet paradox as the subject matter indicates otherwise.
17
METAPHYSICS
Tracey Koolen
Search for new horizons Metal, clay, 2003 1.8 x 1.8m
Tracey was born in Melbourne in 1967 and currently lives at Maldon in central Victoria. Her first interactions with clay were at a young age in the clay pits of regional Victoria. The clay was raw, yielding and extremely fun to create with and she remembers the experience as a very special time that left an indelible mark on her psyche. When she grew up she moved to Melbourne and her love of design and the lure of technology lead to a career in the engineering industry as a design draftsperson. Eventually though, her desire to work with clay asserted itself and she completed a Diploma of Arts in ceramics before returning to the country which gave her access to raw materials, a kiln and a shop front to sell her wares. In 2003 she completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts in Ceramics at La Trobe University in Bendigo. Artist Statement The ultimate challenge is to find a way to merge my interest in the hard-edged technology of engineering with the free flowing creativity of clay. This sculpture has been my largest work to date and is based around the armillary sphere that was used to guide our ancestors to our shores, gauging moon and planetary alignments for direction. It is symbolic of my past and future having a mechanical element representing my background in engineering with the earthiness of clay at its core. It also embodies my love and pursuit of the cosmic realm, the place where my creativity and inspiration lie.
18
METAPHYSICS
Joanne Linsdell
Mac in wax, design classic no.1 Wax, 2003 33.5 x 24.5 x 27cm
Joanne recently returned to Melbourne after an extended period living in Sydney where she studied and exhibited locally, regionally and overseas. In 1981 she graduated a Bachelor of Visual Arts from the Victorian College of the Arts and completed her Master of Visual Arts at Sydney College of the Arts/ Glasgow School of Art in 1997. She has exhibited widely, mounting group and solo exhibitions and was a finalist in the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize in Sydney with her piece “Mac in wax” in 2003. Over her career she has combined her studio art making practice with residencies and large community art projects Artist Statement ‘Mac in wax’ is the first in a series on Design classics. The sculptures in this series explore the basic mass and structure of classic technological icons. The Macintosh Apple Classic was one of the original home computers and is regarded as a design classic. It signified advancement in the home office outfit and the independence of our lives. By casting this iconic and compact shape in wax, the plastic computer casing is replaced by an inert but profound substance, humanizing the object and presenting its poetic potential.
19
METAPHYSICS
Nadia Mercuri
Alien Pacifier Blown glass, 2005 23 x 34 x 34cm
Nadia was born in Melbourne in 1980. She has recently completed a Master of Fine Arts degree majoring in glass forming and is also an active member of the Australian Glass Art arena. Her work speaks to aspects of contemporary popular culture and her response to it as a young participant in the arts and the broader community. In 2002 she received the Kirra Galleries Award For Excellence In Glass and has exhibited widely over past few years. Artist Statement My work is informed and influenced by the theme of science fiction and the ways it is represented in Western popular culture. The design is influenced by the 1950's perception of alien space crafts. I primarily use glass as the material lends itself to the visual representation of patterns found in space, cosmic structures and icons in science fiction like the laser light beam through the natural qualities of glass. Whilst incorporating science fiction themes, I discuss the question of UFO’s with a degree of ambivalence and humour, alternately (or simultaneously) irony and sincerity, doubt and belief.
20
METAPHYSICS
Ruv Nemiro
Torso Ceramic, acrylic, 2005 80 x 30 x 30cm
Ruv is a resident of St Kilda but was born in 1937 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Between 1952-57 he studied at the School of Art Uzbekistan, completing a post graduate degree at Leningrad in 1961. Later that year he traveled to Paris, France where he met and was commissioned to sculpt and paint a portrait of Pablo Picasso. In 1976 he also met and worked with celebrated British sculptor Henry Moore in London. He is the recipient of numerous awards, prizes and major public commissions in Europe and was a Professor at the St Petersburg Fine Arts Academy for ten years. In 1990 he migrated to Australia becoming an Australian Citizen in 1992. He has exhibited widely and completed many commissions since then including the Lady of St Kilda sculpture for the Balaclava railway bridge in 1994.
21
METAPHYSICS
Sandra O’Dea
represented by Manyung Gallery
Sisters Mixed media, 2004 140 x 90 x 30cm
Sandra was born Melbourne in 1956 and currently lives at Mornington. She has been interested in style, colour, texture and design for as long as she can remember. With a background including dance, fitness instruction and theatre design, her interest in visual art became the focus of her life when she returned to study in the mid nineties, completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Victorian College of the Arts and most recently, her Masters of Fine Arts at Monash University. She has exhibited widely in both group and solo exhibitions and her works have been collected and published in Australia and the United Kingdom. Artist Statement I am interested in looking back through history and creating a new approach to myths and ideologies that shape our thoughts and world. I am interested in exploring the over emphasised male sexualised perspective of femininity in contemporary culture. Women, now more than ever, feel compelled to be perfect ageless, timeless beauties. In this work I am addressing the competitive nature of women and the sisterhood. The work is about confronting the issues of femininity and working together to change our perspective, unmasking these values and beliefs to reconstruct the way in which we see ourselves as women in a modern progressive world.
22
METAPHYSICS
Geoffrey Ricardo represented by Australian Galleries
Emblem Bronze, 2003 117 cm
Melbourne printmaker Geoffrey Ricardo has regular solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth and numerous group exhibitions in Australia and internationally. He lectures at the Victorian College of the Arts and has presented many printmaking workshops in Victoria. Ricardo’s work is in public and private collections in Australia and overseas and he is represented by Australian Galleries in Melbourne and Sydney. Artist Statement The work is a simple play on the notions of Australian cultural identity. It’s aim is to be playful while allowing for further readings in a suggestive and contemplative way.
23
METAPHYSICS
Jason Roche
Watching Limestone, 2005 58 x 20 x 15cm
Jason was born in 1972 and lives at Red Hill. In the early nineties he studied acting before travelling throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland returning to Australia in 1996. In 1999 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from A.C.U. before continuing his travels through China, Mongolia, Russia, England, Scotland, Belgium and France. In 2003 he completed a Diploma of Education at A.C.U. and is currently studying for a Diploma of Visual Arts at Chisholm Institute. Artist Statement The Human Form has been key to my work up to this point. I find its ever changing shapes and angles endlessly fascinating. This possibly stems from an initial interest in acting and acrobatics for the past ten years, however I have become increasingly interested in the visual arts. This interest actually began back at acting school when asked to make our own masks for theatre performances. I found myself much more interested in the production of the masks than in there use in theatre. Those initial masks were made through a process of modelling clay and then applying papier machĂŠ. Now however, I have moved away from modelling and have been following the direct carving method in stone and wood
24
METAPHYSICS
Luke Rogers
represented by McCulloch Gallery
The Scavenger Mild steel, 2005 85 x 40 x 20cm
Luke is a designer/artist who creates a diverse range of furnitiure, sculpture and concepts for a wide variety of clientele. Inspired by experiences in Melbourne and New York City where he was fortunate to work with leading blacksmiths and metal sculptors, Luke developed Raw Sculptural Design in 2003. Over the past few years he has created, developed and produced concepts for landscape architects, product designers, retail stores, restaurants, bars, galleries and private commissions. Artist Statement My work is a projection of myself. Taking character from discarded scraps of metal, forged, bent, twisted, cut and used in layers and clusters, my sculptures piece together my identity. Abstract forms in space with steel being the expressive vehicle for emotion. It is my way of expressing my understanding of culture, dreams, freedom, hopes, tensions and loneliness, reflecting on the natural world and its ability to reform and free the soul.
25
METAPHYSICS
Vida Sobott
Photograph by Jules Boag
represented by Floruit Arts Consulting
Ground to a halt in no-man’s land Ceramic, engobe, wood, metal, mixed media, 2004 58 x 78 x 33cm
Vida lives in Yarrum, Victoria and has had a passion for exploring diverse cultural and artistic traditions all her life. Born in Australia in 1958, she lived for a number of years in South Africa, Greece, England and Botswana before resettling in Australia in the mid 1980's. She trained at the prestigious Heatherley's School of Fine Art and took her degree at the Central School of Art & Design in London. She has extensive experience in rural arts projects with particular emphasis on youth and indigenous initiatives. She has exhibited widely and has works held in collections across Australia and internationally. Her distinctive style and meticulous attention to detail stem from her ability to capture emotive and personal moments. Within her practice there is also an acknowledgement of the communal and co-dependent nature of our existence; her works represent an intimate and continuing expedition of discovery and reflection. Artist Statement This work explores broad themes of displacement and relocation, how a sense of place and belonging may impact on individual identity. In an increasingly harried, demanding and technology dependent world, individuals are often so preoccupied with their own lives, jobs, and commitments that the threads that connect us to others are fraying. Often it seems to take a unifying event, an important public issue, a crisis, or tragedy to make people pause and reconsider their place and relationship to one another. These disparate figures, so bound up in their own agendas, are caught at the moment of surprise, realisation, or mild alarm when the self-referential stops and the wider picture begins. (Text by Inga Walton)
26
METAPHYSICS
Brendon Taylor
Growth Mixed media, 2004 200 x 74 x 27cm
Brendon was born in Victoria in 1960 but grew up in Devonport, Tasmania. He always had a keen interest in art and liked making things in general. When his parents passed away he took up an invitation to live with relatives in Gippsland by stowing away on the Devonport to Melbourne Ferry. After working in heavy industry for a short time he decided to enrol in a visual arts course at Gippsland Insitute of Advanced Education receiving his Post Graduate Diploma in 1987. Over the past six years he has worked with Museum Victoria and still pursues his sculpture practice in his spare time. He has twice won the Local Artist Award and in 2005, the People’s Choice Award at the Williamstown Festival Contemporary Art Prize Artist Statement This sculpture is about the dichotomy between growth of the city, particularly evident with the city skyline recently and the growth of the natural world indicated by the avocado seed in the cargo net. Even though the crane is bigger it still strains under the load of nature.
27
METAPHYSICS
Jason Waterhouse
Pod Motor car body, steel, polyester filler, fibreglass, plywood, 2004 350 x 120 x 170 cm
Jason lives in Glenlyon and completed a Bachelor of Fine Art in Sculpture at Monash University in 1997, going on to complete Honours at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1999. In 2005 he was a finalist at the Helen Lempriere Awards at Werribee Park, a finalist at the Montalto Sculpture Prize and the winner of the Moreland Sculpture Prize. He has exhibited widely since the mid nineties including six solo exhibitions and curated The Motor Show at Yarra Sculpture Gallery in 2004. He is a member of the Contemporary Sculptors Association and currently teaches sculpture, life drawing and bronze casting at Swinburne University and CAE. Artist Statement This works is from the pod series, a concept that explores function and the value we place on objects in our daily lives. It is based on an automobile that has been remodelled and filled, a process negating function and highlighting aesthetic. The seamless reworking blocks access to the interior of the vehicle, emphasising the duality of the relationship we have with the motor car, posing questions of status verses function.
28
METAPHYSICS
David Waters represented by Uber Gallery
The Set Concrete, 2005 400 x 30 x 120cm
David completed a Graduate Diploma in Fine Art (Sculpture) from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1987. He works in a variety of mediums including glass and stone and has completed several public commissions and has received several awards including the 2005 Montalto Sculpture Prize. He was a Melbourne based artist until eighteen months ago when he moved to regional Victoria. It was around this time that he began casting concrete forms using corrugated iron water tanks for mould patterns. Over the past three years, he has also been carving forms out of foam rubber and more recently, exhibiting large works on canvas using earth and clay as the medium. Artist Statement ‘The Set’ is the latest in a series of works in concrete. The actual mould, made from corrugated iron tank, was originally a sculpture in itself made specifically for an exhibition about water. The title ‘The Set’ is a new title for the piece. It refers to a set of ocean waves that are slightly larger and occur at regular intervals.
29
METAPHYSICS
Peter Watson
Curved Spine Hebel with rusted iron base, 2005 110 x 30 x 20 cm
Peter is a professional automotive design sculptor who sculpts cars from clay. He recently joined the Toyota team at the Dingley Current Design Centre, sculpting the forms for car interior and exterior surfaces in scale and full size. In recent years he has turned to diversifying and unleashing his latent artistic practice. His sculptures are contemporary in style and he lists among his influences Henry Moore and the French sculptor Jean Arp. He is a member of the Association of Sculptors Victoria and has works placed in various galleries in the bayside area of Melbourne. Artist Statement Some of my works are about emergence, depicting the struggle within that is required at the start of something new. This work is a balancing act and portrays the delicateness and vulnerability of the backbone and possibly the courage and flexibility life requires of us all.
30
METAPHYSICS
Gunther Wilhelm
Turtle Dream No. 1 Steel, perspex, industrial paint, wood, 2003 160 x 45 x 110cm
Gunther was born in Mannhelm, Germany and emigrated to Australia with his family at the age of seven. After completing his studies he relocated from Prahran, Melbourne to pursue his sculptural investigations outside of Clunes, in the Central Victorian Highlands. He now lives in a stone house and works in a studio that he built on 60 acres of bush land. For Gunther, his home, his built environment and his sculptural practice are very much connected through his on-going fascination with architectural space - form, void, surface, colour, light and landscape. Artist Statement This sculpture exists for the viewer in the composition of multiple perspectives. There is not one view that dominates. Each has its own distinction, marked by colour, line, shape, texture and rhythm. Our ability to look from multiple perspectives allows us to develop understanding and hence relationships with diverse communities and individuals. Multiple perspectives break down notions of the oppositional, of the stereotypical ‘other’, of a world seen in black and white. How we relate and interact is determined by our ability to view from different places, to understand that what we see is defined by where we stand. These are unstable works that recognise that life changes and balance is dynamic. Inherent in the object is change, not stasis.
31
METAPHYSICS
Ben Wrigley
The Garden Wood, paint, 2005 240 x 120 x 120cm
Ben trained as a sculptor at the Victoria College of the Arts and has exhibited his sculptural work in numerous exhibitions including at the National Gallery of Victoria and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. In 2005 he was a finalist in both The Waterhouse Art Prize at the South Australian Museum and the Montalto Sculpture Prize. Ben is also a widely published professional photographer specializing in landscapes and architecture. Through observations of architecture and the natural world and through the working of natural materials, Ben derives his sculpted language expressing natures irregular rhythms and the geometry of man. Artist Statement Through the combination of geometry and the rhythm of natural forms, be it water or smoke, or the gait of an animal, I have continued to find endless inspiration for new work. My vision is to enhance the life of others by bringing uplifting and inspiring forms into being.
32