Fleur McArthur. Darren McGinn ... Catalogue Editing & Prepress Watch Arts (
watcharts.com.au). Graphic Design Sandra Kiriacos ...... and I can crochet quite
fast.
TOYOTA COMMUNITY SPIRIT GALLERY PRESENTS THE 2007 INDOOR OUTDOOR SCULPTURE EXHIBITION
the Garden Path EXPLORING THE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMANITY AND NATURE
October 3 to November 14, 2007 Toyota Australia,155 Bertie Street, Port Melbourne Inquiries phone Ken Wong 03 9690 0902 Gallery Hours Thu & Fri 1pm to 6pm 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 260 artists. This project is mounted in consultation with the Contemporary Sculptors Association, Hobsons Bay City Council and the City of Port Phillip.
the Garden Path EXPLORING THE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMANITY AND NATURE
Tony Adams Ruth Allen Don Barrett Shawn Begley Judith Ben-Meir Jodi Blokkeerus Chris Bold Russell Brazier Mark Cowie Mat de Moiser Robert Delves Sean Diamond Rowan S Douglas Andy Dudok Ursula Dutkiewicz Lesley Ens Susan Fell-Mclean
Exhibiting Artists
Flossie Peitsch Monica Finch Loretta Quinn Tanja George Anne Ronjat Louise Harper Fiona Ruttelle Christopher Headley Julie Shiels Liz Henderson Roh Singh William Holt Vipoo Srivilasa Rudi Jass Jennyfer Stratman Gaby Jung Jill Symes Ash Keating Ashley Turner Stone Lee Jos Van Hulsen Angela Macdougall Robert Waghorn Fleur McArthur Cyrus, Wai Kuen Tang Darren McGinn Michael Walsh Marianne Midelburg David Waters Leanne Mooney Dawn Whitehand Carlo Pagoda Lih-Qun Wong
Curator Ken Wong T hanks
to Tania Blackwell, Hobsons Bay City Council Julie Collins, Contemporary Sculptors Association Sharyn Dawson, City of Port Phillip Katarina Persic, Toyota Australia
C atalogue Editing & Prepress G raphic Design Sandra Kiriacos
Watch Arts (watcharts.com.au)
IMAGES FRONT COVER main image Lih-Qun Wong, When there was time to dream (detail), mixed media 2007, 20x50x60cm; Christopher Headley, Fall (detail) mixed media 2007, dimensions variable. INSIDE COVER Russell Brazier, The Liberticide Force (funerary object) (detail), mixed media 2007, 31.5x11.5x56cm. THIS PAGE Monica Finch, The Gateway (detail), clay & steel 2006, 167x55x55cm. FACING PAGE: Loretta Quinn Simulacra in Landscape (detail), aluminium & duco 2003, 3 x 140x30x30cm.
the Garden Path
K
en Wong is the Director of Watch Arts, a Melbourne 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.
Ken Wong CURATOR
This is the third annual sculpture exhibition for the Toyota Community Spirit Gallery, this year featuring indoor and outdoor works by fifty Victorian based artists. The aim of the exhibition is to provide opportunity to both emerging and established artists, showcasing the diversity and excellence of sculpture practice in Victoria. Our program continues to develop and the launch of this years show will also see the announcement of the winner of the second annual Toyota Community Spirit Artist Travel Award. The Garden Path is an exhibition that through the works of the participating artists, explores the relationship between humanity and nature, in many ways traversing the development of that relationship throughout history and into contemporary times. Our relationship to nature has always been complex, and the works not only explore how we interact with and utilise natural resources and the environment, but also how we interact with and relate to our own nature and each other. As a species, we are arguably the most successful to ever have lived on Planet Earth. We have developed knowledge and technology that has given us unprecedented control over our environment and a lifestyle that would seem to be the envy of past civilizations. What it seems we have failed to realise on this path to technological development however, is that the natural world has it’s own complex relationships with us. These relationships exist as a delicate balance that must remain in harmony if they are to continue to provide a stable and plentiful environment that is capable of nurturing and sustaining life. An understanding that we need to co-exist with our environment is something that was central to the philosophy of many ancient indigenous societies, but it is a knowledge that until recently has been largely lost or ignored. With the evidence around global warming and our diminishing resources becoming more and more apparent, it is time we as a species re-thought the path we are on. In our rush to control nature and provide more and more material wealth, we have walked away from the motion of wisdom and succumbed to our own greed and the promise of an easy life. Maybe the real challenge, the real struggle is now to come to terms with our own nature; and find way of living in the world that allows us to step forward but leave behind a footprint light enough to sustain the generations to come. Welcome to the Garden Path. 03
& Works
Artists
the Garden Path
04
TONY ADAMS 10–15 knots on the bay, winds S to SE, swells 1 - 2 metres Mixed media, 250 x 300 x 25cm, 2007
POA
Page
10
RUTH ALLEN Mary go round – Synergetic Series Glass, MDF, stainless steel hooks, 90 x 180 x 23cm, 2007
$3300
Page
11
DON BARRETT Poppet Head Cypress pine, 460 x 190 x 310cm, 2007
$6500
Page
12
SHAWN BEGLEY Ignite Compressed cement, 40 x 100 x 180cm, 2007
$4500
Page
13
JUDITH BEN-MEIR Love is Blind Bronze, 66 x 36 x 23cm, 2007
$5500
Page
14
JODI BLOKKEERUS Swimming with Clouds Mixed media, 74 x 135 x 100cm, 2007
$1850
Page
15
CHRIS BOLD Detail 3 Pairs Mild steel, clay & wax, 65 x 28 x 10cm, 2006
$750
Page
16
RUSSELL BRAZIER The Liberticide Force (funerary object) Copper, brass, iron & stone, 31.5 x 11.5 x 56cm, 2007
$700
Page
17
MARK COWIE Rising Mild steel, 64 x 65 x 28cm, 2006
$1290
Page
18
MAT DE MOISER Damaged Goods Ikea furniture parts, 120 x 60 x 20cm, 2007
$2500
Page
19
ROBERT DELVES Blind Faith Mixed media, dimensions variable, 2007
POA
Page 20
SEAN DIAMOND Raptosaur Mild steel & found objects, 180 x 340 x 170cm, 2007
NFS
Page
21
ROWAN S DOUGLAS I love a sunburnt country Polyester resin, 33 x 275 x 400cm, 2007
$2500
Page
22
& Works
Artists
the Garden Path
ANDY DUDOK Bonsai Fabricated steel, 46 x 44 x 32cm, 2007
NFS
Page
23
URSULA DUTKIEWICZ Ghosts of the Past Mixed media, 39 x 90 x 35cm, 2007
$1200
Page
24
LESLEY ENS Fragility Porcelain clay, dimensions variable, 2007
$140 each
Page
25
SUSAN FELL-MCLEAN Herculaneum Finds–Amphorae, Mixed media, dimensions variable, 2006 $950 Finds, Mixed media, 30 x 40 x 15cm each, 2006 $600
Page
26
MONICA FINCH Balanced, Clay & steel, 40 x 30 x 30cm, 2005 The Gateway, Clay & steel, 167 x 55 x 55cm, 2006
$750 $2000
Page
27
TANJA GEORGE Swinger, Metal & wood, 54 x 52 x 50cm, 2006 Nesting, Metal, plaster & wood, dimensions variable, 2007
$550 POA
Page
28
LOUISE HARPER Wear and Tear Plaster & wool, 200 x 150cm, 2005
$4000
Page
29
CHRISTOPHER HEADLEY Fall Mixed media, dimensions variable , 2007
$10000
Page
30
LIZ HENDERSON The Scent of the Wolf Velvet, acrylic fur & embroidery, 140cm x variable, 2006
POA
Page
31
WILLIAM HOLT Royal Flush Recycled picture frames, 90 x 60 x 60cm, 2007
$500
Page
32
RUDI JASS Landscape Corten & stainless steel, 120 x 90 x 50cm, 2006
$4600
Page 33
GABY JUNG The Guardians of Life M1compound mounted on mild steel, 160 x 320 x 320cm, 2006
$18000
Page
34
ASH KEATING Waste Audit Samples Mixed media, dimensions variable , 2007
POA
Page
35 05
& Works
Artists
the Garden Path
STONE LEE Trivialness #2 Mixed media, dimensions variable, 2006
$1400
Page
36
ANGELA MACDOUGALL Vitus Vinifera Cold cast resin & paint, 132 x 143 x 140cm, 2007
$5500
Page
37
FLEUR McARTHUR Inner Glow Acrylic, laser cut miniatures, 100 x 12 x 12cm, 2007
$1200
Page
38
DARREN McGINN Suburban Identity Mixed media, 60 x 155 x 90cm, 2007
$3300
Page
39
Page
40
MARIANNE MIDELBURG Coral Reef Wool & mixed media, 40 x 150 x 60cm, 2003
06
$1400/or $300 each
LEANNE MOONEY Memories of Loss Eucalyptus branches & paper, dimensions variable, 2006
$10000
Page
41
CARLO PAGODA Leopard Man, Ceramic, 120 x 60 x 30cm, 1997 Balance, Bronze & steel, 180 x 40cm, 2006
$1800 $2500
Page
42
FLOSSIE PEITSCH Wordhouse Wood, 56 x 66 x 40cm , 2005
$12000
Page
43
LORETTA QUINN Simulacra in Landscape, Aluminium & duco, 140x30x30cm ea, 2003 $12000 each Memory of Dreams, Aluminium, 262 x 74 x 74cm, 2002 $18000
Page
44
ANNE RONJAT Lineage - Ancient Beings I, II, III Glazed ceramic, dimensions variable, 2007 (can be sold separately POA) $3600
Page
45
FIONA RUTTELLE I Destroy All I Do Not Understand Cypress pine & steel, 230 x 25 x 10cm, 2007
$2900
Page 46
JULIE SHIELS Aftershock, Mixed media, dimensions variable, 2003 Half empty/half full, Mixed media, 150 x 150 x 50cm, 2006
$350 each $1450
Page
47
& Works
Artists
the Garden Path
ROH SINGH Hoodwink, Mixed media, 116 x 60 x 38cm, 2007 Thylacine, Mixed media, 145 x 55 x 160cm, 2007
$6600 $8800
Page
48
VIPOO SRIVILASA Go Fish Southern Ice porcelain paperclay, 51 x 26 x 19cm, 2006
$1201
Page
49
JENNYFER STRATMAN Balance of Growth, Bronze & steel, 215 x 50 x 62cm, 2006 Nexus, Bronze & steel, 157 x 74 x 21cm, 2006
$19900 $9900
Page
50
JILL SYMES Images of the Sea (Sail, Hull & Fish) , Ceramic (set of 3), 2006 $2500 (Sail 45x37x23cm, Hull 26x 54x 20cm, Fish17x70x 16cm) can be sold separately POA
Page
51
ASHLEY TURNER Moonscape Brown Verdite stone, 33.5 x 31 x 10cm, 2005
$2400
Page
52
JOS VAN HULSEN God spelled backward, Mixed media, 44 x 61 x 17cm, 2007 Hello Dolly , Mixed media, 37 x 34 x 14cm, 2007 Fruits of Progress, Mixed media, 292 x 70 x 175cm, 2007 Cow, Mixed media, 34 x 41 x 14cm, 2007
$1600 $1500 $11000 $1500
Page
53
ROBERT WAGHORN Power Grid Painted wood & ceramics, 72 x 46 x 20cm, 2007
$2000
Page
54
CYRUS, WAI KUEN TANG Finding Wonderland Old building materials & glass, 2 cubic metres, 2007
$1500
Page
55
MICHAEL WALSH Divergence II Stainless steel, 20 x 60 x 20cm, 2007
$360
Page
56
DAVID WATERS 3 Champions, Foam rubber, 113 x 38cm, 2007 Upper Right Back Leg, Polystyrene & concrete, 450x90x100cm, 2007
$4500 $12000
Page
57
DAWN WHITEHAND Equilibrium Stoneware clay, 44 x 33 x 20cm, 2007
$430
Page 58
LIH-QUN WONG Anterior, Mixed media, 170 x 120 x 120cm, 2006 When there was time to dream, Mixed media, 20 x 50 x 60cm, 2007
$1200 $800
Page
59
07
Locations
TOYOTA COMMUNITY SPIRIT GALLERY
the Garden Path
Sculptures are located in the following areas
1.
O utdoor
2.
Gallery
3.
A trium
1
O utdoor
B istro
2
Gallery Reception
3
A trium 08
Bertie Street entrance
the Garden Path
O utdoor Works TOYOTA COMMUNITY SPIRIT GALLERY
Locations 11
Tony Ada ms
1
Don Barrett
8
Shawn Begley
2
Rowan Douglas
4
Tanja George
10
Christopher Headley
6
Gaby Jung
12
Ash Keating
3
Angela Macdougall
5
Jos Van Hulsen
7
Cyrus, Wai K uen Tang
9
David Waters
10–15 knots on the bay, winds S to SE, swells 1 - 2 metres
1
Poppet Head
2 3
Ignite
I love a sunburnt country
4 5
Nesting
Fall
6 The Guardians of Life
Waste Audit Samples
7 8
Vitus Vinifera
9
Fruits of Progress
10
Finding Wonderland
Upper Right Back Leg
Bistro
11 12
09
Tony Adams
the Garden Path
‘1 0-15 knots on the bay' explores the
Port Phillip Bay (detail) exhibited at the Yarra Sculpture Gallery, 2007
Tony studied sculpture at the National Art School in Sydney and completed a Masters of Visual Art at the Victorian College of the Arts. Over the past fourteen years, his sculptural practice has utilised materials and objects from his immediate environment including; industrial waste, plant matter and rural waste and more recently urban waste. These materials have been refigured into objects, installations and ephemeral site specific works. Tony is currently working on a Masters by Research at Monash University called Anatomy of Waste. This project involves exploring the notion of artist as archaeologist, or more precisely a 'flotsamotolgist'. In collecting and working with the refuse and junk of modern society, this work is inherently involved in political and social commentary. Importantly, Tony's project is also concerned with reusing and revealing the aesthetic qualities of these materials. Tony recently won the Montalto Sculpture Prize with an ecological work entitled Vanish [collaboration with Caitlin Street]. Tony's works are held in various private and public collections. 10
geographic form of Port Philip Bay utilising the flotsa m and jetsa m collected from its shoreline. Over a period of two years these materials were gleaned from one site Middle Park Beach. During this time I have used and re-used these materials in a nu mber of installations which have dealt with the interventions of cataloguing, displaying and storage, as well as engaging with the aesthetics, history and meaning of these neglected and discarded objects. This continued refiguring of the materials is essential to my concern with developing a sustainable art practice.
the Garden Path
Ruth Allen
M
y relationship with the material glass is the catalyst for the design science of my ideas. This symbiotic relationship between maker and material, technique and process allows the physical idea to come to fruition. Focused research has nurtured the scientific, theoretical and conceptual contribution to the development of my expression. I strive to challenge perceptions of the potential of the mediu m, glass. Grounded in traditional hot glass techniques, I choose to work sculpturally and within an installation context. The ‘Synergetic Series’ is strongly influenced by the philosophies of Buckminster Fuller, whose theory of ‘Synergetics’ was an attempt to create a scientifically based poetics of experience. I work with natural phenomena, heat, gravity, leverage and the nature of the material. I choose to engage in repetition, reproduction and the singular as well as the interplay between pattern and randomness. The works are abstracted to resonate on many levels with organic forms, cellular structures and postmodern architectural compositions that proliferate in our natural and built environments. Large scaled installations of synergetic forms combine with lighting effects to bring the phenomena of shadow into play. I enjoy the challenge of engaging the viewer into an inter-dimensional language. Illu minating the four dimensional qualities of glass by projecting its three dimensional shadow upon a two dimensional surface.
Mary go round – Synergetic Series (detail) Glass, MDF, stainless steel hooks, 2007 90 x 180 x 23cm variable
In 2006 Ruth was the inaugural recipient of the Toyota Community Spirit Artist Travel Award. The award has allowed Ruth to pursue her proposed project which included travel to mount a solo exhibition of her work at Chapell Gallery, New York. She also taught a hot glass workshop in Montreal, Canada and journeyed through Europe and Asia, visiting international exhibitions including Documenta and pursuing international opportunities and representation. As a result of her travels, she has been invited to be the feature artist in the national touring exhibition GINZ - Glass Invitational New Zealand in 2008, and will also present a major solo exhibition of her works at Milford Galleries in Auckland. She has also been invited to show at the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Fair in May 2008. Originally trained at the Canberra School of Art, Ruth has recently completed her Master of Fine Arts degree, majoring in glass and sculpture at Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria. 11
D on Barrett
the Garden Path
I n this piece I have tried to depict a feeling of the early Australian goldfields, where poppet heads would be seen around Melbourne and regional Victoria.
This piece recognises all the people who have earnt their living by working under the ground.
Poppet Head Cypress pine, 2007 460 x 190 x 310cm
Don was born in Melbourne in 1946. He left school when he was sixteen and served an apprenticeship in carpentry. He was very interested in building and architecture and worked on a variety of building projects where he gained valuable experience. After completing his apprenticeship he applied for several art courses at different institutions around Melbourne but was unsuccessful, mainly because he had not completed Year 12. At an interview with John Brack, Don was told that you didn’t need a qualification to do art, and taking that on board he has studied and pursued his practice privately over many years, travelling and visiting many galleries in Europe including the Tate Modern and The Pompidou Centre. Don works mainly with timber. He has exhibited widely in numerous sculpture exhibitions in recent years and in 2006 won the Montalto Sculpture Prize.
12
the Garden Path
S hawn Begley
T his sculpture explores the nature of initial contact between people and the basis of relationships.
The matchbox symbolises a spark of emotion, of debate between people; the fuel that relationships are created upon.
Ignite Compressed cement, 2007 40 x 100 x 180cm
Shawn completed his Bachelor of Arts in 1988 and has exhibited in various exhibitions since the late 1980’s. He was a finalist in the Lake Macquarie Sculpture Prize in 1996 and also the Montalto Sculpture Award (2003 and 2004) and the Yering Station Sculpture Award in 2004. His work is held in private and public collections including Macquarie Bank and St Vincents Hospital.
13
Judith Ben-Meir
the Garden Path
D eformed imagining grow like trees. Who is stable? Who dances to impress? She leads him yet cannot move: truncated sewn into the ground. Dance my donkey, dance for me. Come my donkey can you see? Love is blind.
Love is Blind Bronze, 2007 66 x 36 x 23cm
In 1987 Judith obtained a Bachelor of Art Degree in Fine Art from RMIT University in Melbourne. An integral part of her work as a sculptor has always reflected her earlier career as a dancer. The element of the figure, initially portrayed realistically and in humorous situations, led to her first solo exhibition at Distelfink Gallery in 1991, and later that year to receiving the Eltham Art Award. In her 1995 solo exhibition she had already moved on to the more permanent medium of bronze, still using the figure as her inspiration but allowing herself the freedom of abstraction. Judith has exhibited in many invitational and group shows in Australia, England, Canada, and Hong Kong continuing to work in her favourite medium bronze. In 2001 Judith took a Post Graduate Diploma in Art in Public Space, which led to her involvement in the Installation of Stones & Tiles for The Cultural Park in Sile, Turkey. Her commissions include amongst others Two Lion Heads for Domain Corporate in Melbourne as well as an installation of forty figures for The Cyberport Health Club in Hong Kong. Her most recent solo exhibition was held at Span Galleries in June 2007. 14
the Garden Path
Jodi Blokkeerus
A s the night sky lights up and anything
seems possible ; Noah slips out of bed, grabbing his sketchbook he goes outside to unravel the mysteries of the universe. “ There’s no end to the things you might know, depending how far beyond zebra you go” Theodor Seuss Geisel 1904-1991
Swimming with Clouds (detail) Mixed media, 2007 74 x 135 x 100cm
Jodi completed a Bachelor of Arts from Victoria University in 2006. Her practice started working mostly within a 2D space; developing characters and stories using a variety of mediums including polymer clay, fur, felt, wire, fabric, pencil and ink. She began developing her drawings into a sculptural form in mid 2006 and is now exploring and experimenting with the possibilities of 3D. Her art comes from perceptions of her environment and imaginings of what could be.
15
C hris Bold REPRESENTED BY 4 CATS GALLERY
the Garden Path
T his work is part of an ongoing project investigat-
Detail 3 Pairs Mild Steel, Clay & Wax, 2006 65 x 28 x 10cm
Chris has had a passion for art for as long as he can remember. When he was very young he was taken for his birthday to the newly opened National Gallery of Victoria in St Kilda Road, and given ownership of it by his family…he’s still waiting for the title deed! He has lived in Melbourne for most of his life, but once left on a one-way ticket only to return three years later to discover what a wonderful city Melbourne truly is. Having visited many of the worlds centres of culture, he believes that Melbourne is one of the most productive and imaginative centres in the world. ‘Being able to make art and to experience the works of others is a constant source of joy and inspiration’ he says.
16
ing and responding to a small body of work executed by John Brack in the early to mid 1970s. John Brack drew deeply from the European tradition, and then adapted it to his own sensibilities. The GOLDEN MEAN is traditionally the measure of perfection; one can distort, elongate, simplify and allude to this time honoured theory and still represent the beauty of the hu man form. A delicate use of line, balance and proportion, all formal qualities that I have called upon with this work, are issues that interest me, however considering the context and time, the materials are important. Clay is a contradiction to the delicate and lithe nature of youth, (feet of clay), wax provides a soft translucent protective skin, steel a strong pliable fra mework to build upon.
the Garden Path
Russell Brazier
T his piece represents a triu mvirate of military,
temporal and executive forces often forged from an alliance of deceit, corruption and lies, but presented as a liberation movement blessed by God to cleanse the land of darkness and evil. These forces lead a march approaching Pandora’s Box.
The Liberticide Force (funerary object) Copper, brass, iron & stone, 2007 31.5 x 11.5 x 56cm
Russell was born in Melbourne in 1952 and began drawing from an early age. He made his first sculpture at fourteen years of age and was significantly influenced by the work of Henry Moore. He was apprenticed at the Melbourne College of Printing and Graphic Arts and was one of the last apprentices to be trained in the six hundred year old craft of hand-setting lead type from type cases. Between 1975-77 he lived overseas before returning to Australia where he worked in the newspaper industry for twenty-six years, much of it on night shift. In the late 1970’s he became involved with street poetry as well as pursuing freelance illustration and cartooning. He has been making sculpture consistently since 1988 working in a variety of materials including ceramics, copper, galvanized iron, steel and bronze. He has also recently returned to formal study and last year completed a Diploma of Visual Arts from CAE majoring in Sculpture. He works from a share studio complex in Collingwood and is currently exploring the relationship between print making and sculpture. 17
M ark Cowie
the Garden Path
W orking with steel, I have found that this
Rising Mild steel, 2006 64 x 65 x 28cm
Mark has exhibited in a variety of sculpture exhibitions throughout Victoria including the Moreland Sculpture Show and the Toorak Festival of Sculpture. With the passing of decades, his intention is that many of his individual pieces will naturally progress towards the state from whence they originated. In this sense, the pieces are 'living' entities, changing almost daily, even if just microscopically, until their final destination is reached. He sees this as a parallel to the human condition underlining the extraordinary cycle of nature. Previously his work has been shown in several galleries including a solo exhibition at Manyung Gallery in 2006. He has also been a supporter of and won prizes at various community arts events and his works and numerous commissions can be found in a number of private collections.
18
outwardly rigid material can be manipulated, re-defined and transformed into abstract pieces that essentially represent the organic intuitive structures and elemental patterns of the hu man psyche. As is the case with paradoxes, steel can indeed be treated in such a fashion so as to coerce a softer, more emotional representation. It is how the creative energy manifests itself that remains the most fascinating and stimulating aspect of this conversion process. Through this process the individual hu man spirit is united with that of the unconscious, generating emotion and ultimately producing a work of creative substance. ‘ Rising’ exemplifies this creative journey and reveals the desire to achieve greater awareness of and connection to oneself.
the Garden Path
M at de Moiser
I use manufactured articles and consu mer
items as the basis for new works. To me, it seems logical for the creative act to be expressed through the re-configuration of consu mer goods.
Damaged Goods Ikea furniture parts, 2007 120 x 60 x 20cm
Mat is an emerging sculptor and public artist recognized for his use of mainstream consumer items as the basis for his works. Career highlights include selection as a Finalist in the 2005 Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture where he was recognised for his work Parasite with the Civic Choice Award and his large stainless steel installation piece titled Three Thirds which was commissioned in 2003. In 2007, Mat was selected as a finalist for Art Melbourne ’07 Off The Wall, Tattersall’s Contemporary Art Prize and the Victorian Sculptors Association Outdoor Sculpture Prize.
19
Robert Delves
the Garden Path
‘nightmare Blindscene.Faith’Itisisa a
depiction of dark times. Man in his inimitable ignorance is plunged .... like Dante‘s hell - into the bleak abyss of his own design. Demonic like creatures - a manifestation of his tormented end, ravage flesh and bone in a symbiotic act of retribution. Blind Faith Mixed media, 2007 Dimensions variable
Robert was born in Melbourne in 1964 and took his B.A. in Fine Art from RMIT in 1985 before going on to complete a Graduate Diploma in Sculpture at Victorian College of the Arts in 1990. He has exhibited widely since then in a host of group exhibitions including Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition and Contempora 2, Docklands Festival of Sculpture in 2005 and as a finalist in the Montalto Sculpture Prize in 2006. He has also produced seven solo exhibitions of his works most recently at Anita Traverso Gallery in 2006.
20
the Garden Path
S ean Diamond
C n we reclaim what is left to decay in the a
Earth or in her atmosphere? My interest is in taking waste energy and materials from the environment discarded by hu mans and reforming them to be utilised and appreciated once again but in a different form. I use found railway and farm equipment, making sculptural elements that honour the history of those elements as hu man tools from a previous age and their integral role enabling hu mans to persuade the earth. These are disused machines, laid to waste by time, technology and the movement of hu mans… like dinosaur bones! Z ero Emission Art – A native tree has been planted
Raptosaur Mild steel & found objects, 2007 180 x 340 x 170cm
Having worked in a variety of international corporate roles for two of Australia’s biggest companies, and having lived and travelled extensively throughout Asia, Sean has more recently turned his experience and energy into exploring the relationships humans have with tools used to manipulate the earth and the inevitable waste it creates. His creative practice has evolved from light paintings with photography into more sculptural concerns over the past few years. In 2006 he received the People’s Choice Award at the St Kilda Community Artist Gardens open day sculpture competition with the three metre Mediasaur, a Papier Mache dinosaur made from the now extinct Punch Magazine (1986/7).
21
Rowan S Douglas
the Garden Path
O riginally coming from a small dairy farm,
I love a sunburnt country (detail) Polyester resin, 2007 33 x 275 x 400cm
Rowan completed his Bachelor of Arts in Sculpture at Victorian College of the Arts in 2001 and since graduating has explored many varied forms of art. His experiments with wood and chainsaw carving led him to become a tree surgeon to learn more about the material he was working with, to better understand its application within his art practice. In recent years, due to injury, he has had to look at ‘softer’ ways of producing art. In order to fund his practise, he has been working full time for many years always trying to keep a balance between his artistic and working self. In late 2005, he created the artist run gallery, Reaktion Space in Abbotsford Melbourne. The experience gained from this enterprise has proved an ongoing source of inspiration and motivation.
22
my recent work draws on the land and the way that I perceive it, either from my mind’s eye (memory), photos or aerial views. Recent events and information publicised widely in the media such as global warming and climate change and the ever present drought have forced me to take action in my own way ... if the land dies then so do the people and animals that inhabit it. This piece focuses on the relationship between the earth and hu mankind. Each section of this work represents a different cross section of the environment, particularly with regard to salinity and the effects of land clearing, both here in Australia and globally.
the Garden Path
A ndy Dudok
T his piece uses the man made industrial
process of welding to represent a Bonsai tree. The tree is in itself a natural form that has been manipulated over centuries by the intervention of hu manity to create a miniature version cultivated for its harmonious orna mental nature. Unfortunately not all of hu manities manipulations of nature are so gentle or considerate of the delicate balance necessary to maintain harmony with the natural world that sustains us.
Bonsai Fabricated steel, 2007 46 x 44 x 32cm
Andy is an employee of Toyota from the factory floor at Altona and has worked in Body Shop as a welder since 1997. 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 works like this 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.
23
Ursula Dutkiewicz
the Garden Path
T his work was inspired by a recent visit to the
magnificent city of Prague. At present the statue in the Old Town square is being restored and is currently under wraps evoking in me a sense of mystery, uncovered history and the ‘Ghosts of the Past’.
Ghosts of the Past (detail) Stoneware clay, under glaze, tiles, grout & wood, 2007 39 x 90 x 35cm
Ursula’s approach to her practice is multi-dimensional. A professional artist since completing her Bachelor of Fine Art in Ceramics at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1993, she has completed commissioned works for various organizations such as the City of Port Phillip, Women’s Circus and Kensington Management Company. She has also implemented many Community Arts Projects such as the tile project at Footscray Community Art Centre and designed workshops for people of all ages and abilities. She has also completed artist residencies at the Brighton University (UK) School of Health Professions and at a number of schools in Australia. In 2007 she was invited to participate in a conference and exhibition at the University of East London, (UK).
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the Garden Path
L esley Ens
I
a m an emerging cera mic artist who creates both functional and sculptural forms. I was born in Canada and migrated to Australia with my fa mily when I was eight years old. My mother is Native American – Metis and Cree F irst Nation people. My father’s fa mily are CanadianDutch Mennonite farmers. This ancestral lineage has given me a strong personal, spiritual and cultural connection with land and nature and this is often reflected in my work. My inspiration is often drawn from the beauty and wonder of the natural world. I a m particularly inspired by my love of animals. My animal and bird installations have been designed to help people reflect on the fragile relationship between hu mans, animals and the environment. In creating these forms, I wanted people to appreciate the beauty and majesty of these animals and, in doing so, to consider the law of cause and effect - how every action we take has an immediate reaction not only on the environment but also on animal life. The bear and bison are of direct significance to me because of my ancestral linage. The waterbird is also significant to me as I rescue ducks during the duck-shooting season in Victoria and Tasmania.
Fragility (detail) Porcelain clay, 2007 Dimensions variable, each individual form approx 16 x 10 x 34cm
Lesley was born in Canada in 1970, migrating to Australia with her family in 1978. She completed her Diploma of Arts in Ceramics in 2002 but has continued studies to refine her wheel forming and glazing skills and is now studying Applied Studio Practice in Ceramics with a focus on sculpture and hand building. She has exhibited her works in various exhibitions since 2000 and currently combines her own studies and practice with part time teaching in ceramics.
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S usan Fell-Mclean
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T hese works are a response to my research
Finds Silk, felted wool, wire, stitch & shibori in wooden museum boxes, 2006 30 x 40 x 15cm (each wooden box)
Susan’s work varies from small sculptural forms and flat wall pieces to large installations occupying interior spaces. She has recently shown a solo exhibition of her works at Yarra Sculpture Gallery. She works with textiles, manipulating age old processes in contemporary interpretations. Silks, cottons, felted wools and other fibres are stretched, wrapped, stressed, stitched and dyed. They are combined with wood, copper wire, wax and other materials to explore concepts of palimpsests and sense of place. Susan has been involved in several contemporary International conferences: (as presenter) The World Batik Conference Boston, Massachusetts, USA and KLIB Kuala Lumpur International Batik, both in 2005. The same year, she exhibited in The World Shibori Symposium in Melbourne. In 2003 at the Museum of Industrial Archaeology and Textiles, Belgium at the Ghent Centre for Artistic Confrontation, she exhibited and conducted workshops, for which she was awarded an Arts Victoria Grant for Professional Development. That same year she completed an Artist Residency at Cumnor House School in Sussex UK, felt making with children and teachers.
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journey in Herculaneu m looking for the palimpsests of Italy. In 2006 I completed a Master of Visual Arts Degree, and was very fortunate to be awarded a studio position in Palazzo Vaj, the Monash University Study Centre in Prato in Tuscany. My deconstructed and constructed textile pieces help us to journey back to ancient Roman times, and to imagine the ‘finds’ of excavations. The colourants for these shibori pieces (local Tuscan vino rosso, noce, cipolla and porcini), were used as a metaphor for the way in which the mud from the volcanic devastation preserved the daily life of an ancient civilisation, the archaeological excavations of Herculaneu m revealing its secrets.
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M onica Finch
T his piece was fired in an electric kiln, then
placed in a metal bin and covered with sawdust and seaweed. This is lit from the top and then sealed to slowly burn for up to a week. The clay absorbs the carbon and salts to create this smoked, organic surface. The carvings on this piece are representative of those found on Neolithic pottery discovered in ancient Europe. These symbols come from a time in history when the Goddess was worshiped and these particular markings are associated with owls. Owls are thought to be the messengers death and wisdom.
The Gateway Clay & steel, 2006 167 x 55 x 55cm
Over the past eighteen years Monica’s focus has been on raising her family but in 2000 she decided she needed to find expression for her creative urges and returned to study completing a Diploma in Art Therapy and also a Diploma in Visual Arts - Ceramics. She has established her own studio at her home in South Gippsland where she has been working and exhibiting for the past five years. Her works have been shown regionally including the San Remo Sculptural Exhibition, Women of Sculpture at Leongatha and Federation Gallery, Frankston with five other women artists from rural Victoria. This successful exhibition was inspired by “emotions, generations and the modern woman of today”. She has also exhibited in Melbourne at The Walker Street Gallery in Dandenong and Linden Gallery in St Kilda.
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T anja George
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M y fascination lies with discarded industrial and mechanical objects.
Nesting Metal, plaster & wood, 2007 Dimensions variable
Tanja was born in Vienna, Austria but grew up in Germany where she worked as a journalist for Esquire magazine. In 1989 she moved to Australia where she studied film, completing her Bachelor of Film and Television at Victorian College of the Arts in 1995. After graduating she made a semi-documentary called Death and Passion, which was filmed, on location in Pamplona and Zaragoza in Spain. In 2004 she travelled 9000 kilometres directing a travel documentary about Australia for German television. Apart from her work in the film industry, Tanja has assisted established artists in fabricating sculptures. She is also creating her own work, mainly in the mediums of sculpture and photography. Earlier this year, Tanja had a solo sculpture exhibition at Lancaster Press Gallery and also exhibited in the Toyota Community Spirit Gallery.
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They have become the basis for my recent sculptural work. Just as the objects have reached the end of their life span, I transform them into something new. To me they are treasures that have an aesthetic life beyond their function. These mechanicalindustrial bird-creatures warn us - with dark, mocking hu mour - that the threat of destruction of our planet and the extinction of its flora and fauna is looming on the not so distant bleak horizon. These man-made birds might be the only avian survivors; a new species is evolving!
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L ouise Harper
M y sculpture practice focuses on the body and more recently on bodily extremities.
This piece speaks of history and memory both personal and societal. The carpet is worn and stained, and bears witness to lives lived on and around it. The bare feet suggest the intimacy and vulnerability of these lives. These images are metaphors for physical and spiritual journeys and evoke ancient and contemporary themes about the paths we tread and the footprint we leave behind.
Wear & Tear Plaster & wool, 2005 200 x 150cm
Louise has developed her sculpture practice over many years and has exhibited widely including six solo exhibitions, most recently earlier this year at the Yarra Sculpture Gallery. She is currently working on an international exchange project to create a ‘postable’ sculpture exhibition to tour between Melbourne, London and New York.
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C hristopher Headley
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‘F
Fall (detail) Trees in pots, self supporting fence, ceramic flowers & synthetic grass, 2007 Dimensions variable
Christopher’s distinguished career in ceramics began in Adelaide and he received recognition as early as 1984, when he was published in the December issue of Ceramics Monthly (USA). Since then he has been published and exhibited widely and in the mid 1990’s took up a role at Monash University-Gippsland. In 1999 he completed his PhD at Monash University-Gippsland and currently works at their Caulfield campus as Coordinator of Fine Arts. He recently held Tempest, a major exhibition of his works at Latrobe Regional Gallery and also curated the Works on Water exhibition at Herring Island Gallery in Melbourne.
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all’ is a work that attempts to seek out the sublime. The sublime, so does it really exist in our apres-post, techno-centric society, with its detachment from nature and consequently our loss of fear of the natural? In the aftermath of the destruction of the World Trade Centre towers we find ourselves today living in a new state of fear; fear that can only be described as phobia. It is often difficult to separate phobia from aesthetic experience. After you climb a cathedral tower and peer out through a slit in the walls of the spire, your legs go wobbly. Is this because we are afraid of heights, afraid of God, afraid of nothingness and therefore overcome by a feeling of awe; or is it simply that we are suffering from fatigue? If we take in what we see, a beautiful view of nature; are we then arriving at the feeling of sublimity? What if that feeling is forced upon us? Then, ‘ Fall’ records the instant after the event. The work comprises three actual trees, a scattering of cera mic flowers and a white picket fence. The trees could be set out as permanent plantings but here are sited temporarily in large pots. The constructed flowers are moulded from everyday kitchen utensils. The picket fence is installed as if it were a typical suburban Melbourne front fence. These three elements evoke feelings of comfort and domestic security. Y et, the scattered flowers ‘fix’ in time the moment of fear/shock immediately after the event.
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L iz Henderson
C hildhood memory and the social construction
of femininity are the themes which reverberate throughout my work. ‘ The Scent of the Wolf ’ was inspired by my passion for fairy tales. Red Riding Hood (or Little Red Cap) is one of the most well know and loved of all fairy tales. From the gilded rooms of Charles Perrault’s 17th century French court to the animated cells of the Walt Disney studios, Red has been through many transformations. In Gustov Dore’s 1861 print of Red Riding Hood, the Wolf and Red are depicted in bed together, cheekily the expression on her face suggests a not so innocent Red. Angela Carter’s ‘ In the Company of Wolves ’ a revisionist and ribald retelling of the fairy tale goes even further, what Dore implies, Carter makes explicit, Red and the Wolf are one under the covers – ‘ The Scent of the Wolf ’.
The Scent of the Wolf Velvet, acrylic fur & embroidery, 2006 140cm x variable
The primary focus of Liz’s studio practice is object based installation, however 'autonomous' sculptural works also play a part as in the work presented here. The central themes of childhood memory and the social construction of femininity traverse both forms of work. The media is governed by the concept i.e.; she does not work in only one medium but many, an extremely common practice amongst installation artists. Recently she has shifted the emphasis from the previously mentioned themes to the alluring subject of olfaction. She has used fragrance as a material support and as metaphor. Currently enrolled as a PhD candidate at Monash University, her area of enquiry is the aesthetics of olfaction; the investigation focusing on the connection between femininity, fragrance and the fetish is very much a work in progress.
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W illiam Holt
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F ound and recycled materials transformed into
Royal Flush (detail) Recycled picture frames, 2007 90 x 60 x 60cm
William has a Masters of Fine Art from Monash University and is currently the curator and painting teacher at Osare Gallery. His art practise crosses many mediums and materials and he is passionate about the authentic art object and the role art has to deepen the understanding of our existence in the current transient society.
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new forms are a constant inspiration in my art practise. ‘ Royal F lush’ is made from various parts of fra mes combined to create this hu morous sculpture. Many readings can be seen into the work, under its light-hearted appearance are more serious issues about our consu merism, sustainability and the things we flush away. My work is never really about the precious object, more a comment and communication of our materialism and the transient.
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Rudi Jass
A s an artist I take my instruction and
inspiration from forms in nature - from the detail contained in a seed pod to the fragility of a massive riverbed. The observer might use my work as a point of contemplation of our connectedness to the natural world and the extraordinary minutiae it contains.
Landscape Corten steel & stainless steel, 2006 120 x 90 x 50cm
Rudi was born in 1953 in Germany, but lived in Canada and Papua New Guinea before migrating to Australia in 1983. He worked as an automotive technician for Porsche until 1990, when he made the decision to pursue his passion for making sculpture. He has worked full time as a sculptor ever since, completing numerous commissions across Australia and internationally including New Zealand, Japan and USA. His preferred medium is stainless and corten steel. He has received several awards for his sculptures and has shown works throughout Victoria including the Montalto and Yering Station sculpture exhibitions.
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G aby Jung
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Mw out of touch with the natural
y work in the health-field shows me
daily ho
cycles of life most people are. My sculpture provides an opportunity to contemplate themes of balance; death and rebirth; growth and decline. The five identical sculptures represent the equal status of each phase of the lifecycle/season; without one the other cannot be. By arranging them in the form of the pentagra m/circle their interconnectedness is made tangible.
F ire Early Su mmer Surge Adolscence
The Guardians of Life (detail) M1compound mounted on mild steel, 2006 160 x 320 x 320cm (5 pieces, 160 x 45 x 40cm each)
Gaby was born in Berlin, Germany, migrating in 1979 to Australia and settling in Melbourne in 1986. She started as a self-taught sculptor working mainly in stone in 2002. Since then she has been in nineteen group exhibitions including Collectors Exhibition (2005, 2006), Toorak Sculpture Festival (2004, 2005), She, Spirit of Life (2003) and Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition (2006). Her works are in private collections in Germany and Australia. 34
Wood Spring Growth Childhood
Water Winter Quickening Death & Rebirth
Earth Late Su mmer Consolidation Mature Adult
Metal Autu mn Decline Old Age
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A sh Keating REPRESENTED BY DIANNE TANZER GALLERY
T his installation is based on different types of
waste collected from a waste audit conducted at Toyota’s Factory at Altona in February 2007. These various materials including plastic film, moulds and strapping as well as cardboard, metals, etc., all bring an awareness to these types of resources, but also to the instigation of waste auditing as an important part of a responsible approach to managing industrial processes in our world of diminishing resources. These materials are shown together here along with information, photographs and recommendations from the audit report.
Waste Audit Samples Mixed media, 2007 Dimensions variable
Ash was born in Melbourne in 1980. He keenly integrates his interest in environmental concerns with his art strategies, which often vary from process-based projects to public art and performance or installations. A Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting) from Monash University, he completed with 1st class Honours year at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2006. His most recent work involved creating a process based mural dealing with the countries current water crisis. The concept of a full dam of water depleting until there is none left, was painted with eco safe paints on the Mockridge Fountain at the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, Melbourne, which had been de-activated due to water restrictions. In 2006 he travelled to Santiago, Chile as part of The South Project, where he created a diverse media project Pascua Lama, as part of Trans Versa at the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo. His exhibition program has been extremely busy over the last few years with shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart. His most recent solo exhibition opened at Dianne Tanzer Gallery in September. 35
S tone Lee
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M y practice exa mines the perception
Trivialness #2 (detail) Newspaper, found objects & acrylic media, 2006 19 x 35 x 39cm each unit. Dimensions variable
Stone Lee was born in Taiwan. His first art studies were in Chinese calligraphy and painting. He took his Masters of Fine Art from the City University of New York and later received a PhD at University of Tasmania. He works with ordinary things, transforming them through meticulous application of newspaper into objects that transcend their beginnings. In an era that owes much to uncertainty, the ephemeral paper artworks reveal both eastern and western ways of being. He has exhibited widely including four solo exhibitions in Australia since 2003 and also has been published in various magazines and articles including Australian Art Collector.
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and meanings of ordinary objects as a way to understand our existence. My argu ment has focused on the meaningless of life and existence as that experience itself can easily appear out of the encounters of everyday life. The works I create are a response to meaninglessness; a response that aims to exhibit meaning in the only terms in which it is possible: the meaning of the ordinary, the everyday, the mundane – the meaning that resides in the common objects that we find around us and with which we interact.
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A ngela Macdougall REPRESENTED BY BRENDA MAY GALLERY
T ese large grape seeds show the h
sensuality, perfection and simplicity of nature compared to the complexities of hu man existence.
They also bring to attention what usually goes unnoticed and discarded without a moments thought.
Vitus Vinifera Cold cast resin & paint, 2007 132 x 143 x 140cm
Angela completed her Bachelor of Arts in Sculpture at RMIT in 1989 and returned after a stint travelling and working in Japan to complete her Honours in 1995. She has exhibited widely in numerous solo and group exhibitions since 1992 and this year received the People’s Choice Award at the Montalto Sculpture exhibition. She has completed major public and numerous private commissions and her works are held in corporate and private collections in Australia and Japan including Artbank and the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Sydney.
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F leur McArthur
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C olour and its effects have always been a continuing theme in my works, as have the explorations of unusual optical effects.
This work explores the nature of the heart, literally and metaphorically. Sometimes contained, sometimes transparent, but always lit with an inner glow
Inner Glow (detail) Acrylic, laser cut miniatures & lighting, 2007 100 x 12 x 12cm
Graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1998, Fleur has had numerous exhibitions and been Artist in Residence at a number of Community Arts Centres. She has received various grants and commissions including public art projects for the City of Maroondah. Her professional work and practice continues through explorations of diverse ideas and choices of medium.
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D arren McGinn
T
he artwork ‘Suburban Identity’ is a response to our suburban nation. The floor of the house is comprised of a photographic image of generic suburbia; a small mirror placed behind wire mesh nestles alongside this image. When seen from above a reflection of the viewer is transmitted back. The viewer unwittingly becomes a participant, hence ‘suburban identity’. In the words of Howard Arkley, “It’s where ninety five percent of Australians actually live”.
Suburban Identity Mixed media, 2007 60 x 155 x 90cm
Darren completed a Graduate Diploma in Fine Art in 1988 at RMIT, going on to complete his Master of Arts in 1991. He has worked for many years as a lecturer and teacher of ceramics and sculpture at various institutions including the University of Melbourne and Victorian College of the Arts. He is the recipient of a Commonwealth grant for research studies and has received numerous awards in national exhibitions for contemporary ceramics. In 2004 he was awarded an acquisitive prize at the Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award in Queensland. He is currently a PhD Candidate at Monash University. Suburban Identity (interior view)
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Marianne Midelburg
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T he inspiration for this piece ca me from closely
studying underwater photography of coral. The work took about three months to complete. I use mainly recycled materials and I can crochet quite fast.
Coral Reef Wool & mixed media, 2003 40 x 150 x 60cm
Born in 1953 in Geelong, Marianne is the daughter of Austrian migrant parents. Her mother was a tailoress; other maternal relatives were artists and scientists. Her father was a civil engineer and hobby photographer. University educated in the 1970s, she was a dedicated and innovative teacher of German in secondary schools in Melbourne and Bendigo. In 1996 she resigned from this career path and began working as an independent artist. From the mid 1980s she completed courses in fine art photography, arts administration and printmaking and from 1998 to 2004 sat on the management committee of the Bendigo Arts Alliance. Here she further developed her skills as an arts administrator and workshop facilitator, also working as Artist in Residence on several large-scale community arts projects. She has exhibited in Central Victoria and Melbourne and is currently involved in European and American projects. She is acknowledged by the City of Greater Bendigo as a valuable volunteer for the enhancement of arts and culture in the region and has been a professional life-drawing model for over twenty years. Marianne is passionate about her work and dedicated to sharing her skills and talents for the benefit of the wider community. Her artworks, community projects and exhibitions can be viewed at http://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/midelburg/web 40
I have created other crocheted sculptural pieces: various cacti, a banquet, a mossy log covered in fungi and most recently, an afternoon tea setting. Since creating this piece, I've become involved in the Institute For F iguring in Los Angeles as a contributor to their massive hyperbolic crocheted coral reef and anemone garden. Nature is a main theme of my textile artworks. I also enjoy playing and working with bold colours and a variety of textures.
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L eanne Mooney
T his is a fragile and ancient land. The impact
of European farming and land management practises, in the last two hundred years, has been devastating, causing, salinity, soil erosion, loss of species and habitat. Trees can be replanted, however you cannot replace an entire eco system. This sculptural work emerges out of my feelings of sadness and loss in relation to this ongoing and most pressing issue.
Memories of Loss (detail) Eucalyptus branches & paper, 2006 Dimensions variable
Leanne has been exhibiting since 1985 and is currently completing her Masters in Fine Arts at Monash University. She was an Artist in Residence and worked as a sculptor in ephemeral exhibitions for the Nillumbik Shire Council and the Shire of Yarra Ranges. Her work is included in the collections of Geelong Regional Gallery, Box Hill Council, Nillumbik Shire, Parks Victoria and various private collections. The thread common to the recent sculptures is her use of natural materials. Her reverence for the world of nature is explored through installations using multiple units. Her intent is that the repetition of the many reveals the intrinsic beauty of each, displaying distinguishing qualities and differences, large or small. When seen in an ordered relationship a harmonic rhythm is created.
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C arlo Pagoda
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M intaining a balance in our global a
Balance (detail) Bronze & steel, 2006 180 x 40cm
Carlo was born in Italy in 1956. His family migrated to Australia when he was three and he grew up in Adelaide where he studied design, graduating to work as a graphic designer. In 1987 he went to London and worked as a graphic designer for Sir Terence Conran. Two years later he moved again, this time to the USA where he worked as a creative director in San Francisco for twelve years. His self taught art practice includes painting, sculpture, ceramics and mixed media, and it was during his time in Northern California that he began exhibiting at various shows and galleries including the Bohemian Club in San Francisco. In 2001 he returned to Australia and now lives and works in Melbourne as a graphic designer, but has also actively continued to pursue 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.
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ecosystem and climate patterns is up to us. Mother Earth can only do so much, suspended between the pull of the sun and moon, the rest is our responsibility and that of future generations. We will either learn to work with the continual process of renewal that the seasons bring us, or be caught plundering the limited resources we’ve been given and be cast adrift on an eternal wintery sea. That fine balance, we hold in our hands.
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F lossie Peitsch
T his installation uses the house as a metaphor
for fa milies, where words create the environment and carry the views and spirituality of the individuals. Lives are created through the presentation of words by speaker to listener and by the consideration of these words by the listener – two separate processes. Even concepts of ‘the immortal’, though not yet experienced first hand are often expressed through words.
Photograph: Flossie Peitsch
Wordhouse Wood, 2005 56 x 66 x 40cm
Flossie is an internationally known and collected installation artist who has travelled and exhibited around the world. Canadian by birth, she now lives and works in Melbourne and this year completed her PhD at Victoria University, holding an Australian Postgraduate Award comprising a three-year fulltime scholarship. Her PhD thesis entitled, THE IMMORTAL NOW: Visualizing the place Where Spirituality and Today’s Families Meet, consisted of a visual art exhibition and exegesis, which was staged in five different galleries concurrently in November 2006. Her visual art practice includes tapestry, installation, watercolours, mixed media, acrylic painting, sculpture, community/public art projects, artist residencies and workshops. A sought after speaker trained in theology and education, her art themes incorporate spirituality and families, and the dialogue and changing strictures between Community Art and Fine Art. She has worked extensively with her local community on a host of Community Art projects.
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L oretta Quinn
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I have been fascinated with
Memory of Dreams Hand cut aluminium, 2002 262 x 74 x 74cm
Loretta was born in Hobart where she began her art studies at the University of Tasmania. She has been living and working in Melbourne since 1981 and this year commenced a PHD at Monash University. She recently held a retrospective exhibition of her works entitled A Decade of Sculpture at Stonnington Stables Museum of Art at Deakin University in Toorak. Loretta has been a lecturer and teacher in Sculpture at Victorian Universities since 1985, including the Victorian College of the Arts, Monash University, University of Melbourne and RMIT University where she is currently employed. Her over eighty exhibitions have included fourteen solo shows and she has received numerous awards and funding grants. Her work is represented in collections nationally and internationally, including the Australian National Gallery Canberra, Melbourne City Council and the City of Port Phillip, with five permanent public sculptures in prominent locations throughout the Melbourne CBD, including Beyond the Ocean of Existence, a six metre bronze work at the corner of Flinders Lane and Swanston Street. 44
gardens since my early childhood in Tasmania. Looking back now I realise they appeared to me to be sacred places where the balance between the natural and built environments were at their most harmonious. Shrines and the 19th century landscaping beca me mysterious and almost magical when combined with the beautifully cared for trees and plantings. These were the settings for childhood drea ms that now have turned to memories. This work represents the garden as a place for reverence and contemplation.
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A nne Ronjat
T the lineage of hu man
hese sculptures may evoke
generations who lived before us, the tribal or nomadic populations, or the part inside each of us that is holding the ancient being. I see this being as the one who forms a creative alliance with the principles of nature, embraces the ethereal forces and the earthly elements rather than trying to force or manipulate them. It is the part in us that feels one with its visible or invisible surroundings, the being who stands at the origin of civilizations and the one that sustains them. In the subtext of this work are concerns about modern man and our endeavours to separate ourselves from nature in order to control it. With the loss of reverence to our surroundings, we are risking the disappearance of the ancient sustainable being and courting the extinction of our own civilization as we attempt to spread power over our environment further and further ...
Lineage – Ancient Beings I,II,III (detail) Glazed ceramic, 2007 Dimensions variable
Anne was born in Paris, France and has pursued a passion for the creative arts all her life. In 1990 she completed a Diploma of Ceramics and began an intensive apprenticeship with renowned French ceramicists Vanier, Montaudoin and Duru which she completed in 1994. Shortly after she migrated to Australia and established her own range of fine functional ceramics. She was recently commissioned to create a limited edition designer range of ceramics exclusively for Country Road. Her sculptural practice began in 2000 and soon after she was invited to participate in the Becton Sculpture Biennial and created a life-size trio of figurative works, a project that she has re-interpreted with the installation presented here. Anne has held studio space at Gasworks Arts Park in Albert Park for several years and has held highly successful solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group shows throughout Melbourne and regional Victoria. 45
F iona Ruttelle
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I think it is the responsibility of an artist to Fiona left school at sixteen to become a professional dancer, appearing in television commercials and film clips, most notable The Locomotion with Kylie Minogue. She has worked in many capacities in the entertainment industry, as a choreographer with international touring musicians and was a founding member of the band The Freaked Out Flower Children before going on to be nominated for an AFI award as best lead actress for the Richard Lowenstein film, Say a little Prayer. In 1993 she began glass workshops with Pam Stadus and as her interest in visual arts and sculpture continued to develop over time, she has gone on to tertiary studies at Monash University. She is currently working to complete her Masters in Fine Art. In 2004 she won First Prize at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show Sculpture Exhibition and has this year been exhibited at the Montalto Sculpture Prize as well as the Toorak Village Sculpture Festival invitational curated by Julie Collins.
I Destroy All I Do Not Understand Cypress pine & steel, 2007 230 x 25 x 10cm
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contemplate and reflect on the underlying beliefs in our society, particularly covert or unchallenged beliefs. Hopefully, by doing this, thought will be provoked and questions asked. I think art can do this without being sanctimonious; reflecting is not judging. I strive for my work to be understood and like the simplicity of working with text - it is straight forward, a visual sound bite.
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Julie Shiels
T hese objects are made from hundreds of flattened cha mpagne wires (muselet) that have been fused together to make a collection of bags. The individual forms become a hieroglyph that represents an event or celebration that has passed. The bags are transparent but hold the form of the invisible content, frozen in a moment like each of the individual wires. But the bags are also full of a mbivalences and tensions about privilege and affluence. This is reflected in the objects themselves: the plastic bag as waste, the shopping bag as a symbol for consu mption and the dilly bag/billu m as a reminder of our colonial past. ‘Half empty/half full’ explores the idea that an object has an afterlife by preserving and interpreting detritus that has been found on the street.
Half empty/half full Recycled champagne wire & silver solder, 2006 150 x 150 x 50cm
Julie has been working across visual arts, public art, story telling and web based media, for more than twenty years. Her art draws attention to profound moments in the small gestures and stories of everyday life. One of Julie’s most recent projects has involved stencilling truisms, quotes and stories onto furniture that has been discarded on the streets near her home in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda. The combination of text, object and place is critical in this process and the effect may be witty, whimsical, poetic or confronting. In her most recent solo exhibition, afterlife (45 Downstairs, Melbourne, September 06) she salvaged fabric from mattresses dumped around St Kilda and transformed it into an installation of luxurious pyjamas. The work is part of a larger project exploring how discarded objects left in the street can capture the narratives of the cultural terrain. This investigation is ongoing and exhibited on line at www.citytraces.net and Ilovestkilda.com. Julie has exhibited both nationally and internationally and has just completed a Fellowship awarded by the Australia Council for the Arts.
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Roh Singh REPRESENTED BY DIANNE TANZER GALLERY
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C omputer aided design has become
thylacine Acrylic, aluminium & steel, 2007 145 x 55 x 160cm
Born 1976 to an Australian mother and West Indian father, Roh was raised and schooled in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne. After returning from a trip to Trinidad with his family in 1996, he decided to study art, enrolling a two year Diploma of Visual Arts at Swinburne Outer Eastern Tafe. In 1998 he went on to complete undergraduate studies at Monash University Caulfield majoring in sculpture, and was then accepted into Honours in 2002, winning the Fundere Sculpture Prize awarded by judge Robert Lindsay. He continued to show for the next few years in artist run and commercial galleries until Dianne Tanzer Gallery approached him for national representation in 2005. More recently he received an emerging artist ‘new work’ grant from the Australia Council to complete a project that was then selected into the 2007 Helen Lempriere Sculpture Award, taking out the Peoples Choice Award. Works from his most recent exhibition have been acquired by Artbank and the Besen Collection.
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entrenched as part of our visual culture. This notion of the virtual raises issues of an 'other' existence, an existence that is at once real and contradictorily, false. My initial forms are designed in a virtual realm and arguably do not exist in the real world. This technology wields a heavy hand in propagating a loss of ‘realness’. I seek to emulate aspects of this virtual realm and to chart the implications of a space undefined by the actual. Whilst looking into this point of transferral from existence to non-existence I cannot deny a sense of loss is present, nostalgia occurs, and portions of memory are invoked. This ghost-like realm of absence is the landscape where I look to further the investigations of my practice.
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V ipoo Srivilasa REPRESENTED BY UBER GALLERY
T
his work is from my series ‘My Self: My Others’ which explores the path of my personal journey by revealing how I have been changed by my Australian immigration experience. This series developed from Thai literature and traditional costu mes together with the fla mboyant costu mes worn in the parade at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. I also find the shapes, colours and textures of Australian flora and fauna, its wonderful coastlines and unique rocks and shells extremely captivating and have incorporated that imagery into my work. The juxtaposition of these two distinct cultural elements was inspired by my belief that opposing cultures do not have to come together in fear and loathing, but can complement each other through the power of art and imagination. Throughout most of my creations, the mermaid has appeared in many guises, intimately connected to the childhood stories told to me by my Grandmother from the Ra makien (Ra mayana). Suvan Madcha, a mermaid caught between opposing forces of good and evil, captures my imagination… she actually represents my alter ego, or me in a drea m world. I use this as a form to present myself; also caught between the two worlds of West and East.
Go Fish Southern Ice porcelain paperclay, 2006 51 x 26 x 19cm
Part-time work as a designer of fashion accessories led Vipoo to create works in paperclay. This experience played a role in his decision to major in ceramics while studying for his Degree in Fine Arts at Rang-Sit University in Bangkok in the mid 90s. The Thaiborn Melbourne based ceramicist combines elements of both cultures and his own experience into his work. He believes that the environments of Thailand and Australia are both very similar and at the same time, very different - providing him with a wealth of ideas to express. His decorative creations range from interpretations of landscape, architecture, and cultural celebrations to social questions on a global scale. The ocean’s landscape is one of his favourite subjects. The bright and jagged forms of coral are captured in all their colour and glory through his interpretation. Thailand’s bright theatrical culture and the majestic architectural beauty of many of its historical sites are also evident in his creations. Similarly the artist has embraced the flamboyancy and life of one of Sydney’s best-known celebrations. 49
Jennyfer Stratman REPRESENTED BY UBER GALLERY
the Garden Path
‘N exus’ is my continued exploration of
Nexus (detail) Bronze & steel, 2006 157 x 74 x 21cm
Jennyfer grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1997 she graduated from Arizona State University with a Visual Arts degree. Jennyfer's work has been shown in a number of group and solo exhibitions in the United States and internationally. In 2001 she migrated to Melbourne, Australia and now divides her studio practice between the two countries. Currently her work is represented in US and Australian galleries.
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interconnecting body parts with natural forms. Ideas of isolation, migration and growth are exa mined in the work. Two bronze arms extend from a common root base. Poised delicately in the palm of one hand stands a solitary figure; in the other, a group of figures. Is this physical separation a metaphor for isolation? Or are these figures subtly and unconsciously connected via the common root base.
the Garden Path
J ill Symes
M y sculptural work relates to landscape, the
sea, and the sky, with reference to the hu man connection. My practice consists of works mainly in clay, using techniques of slab, coil, pinch and layer to produce forms and surfaces which allude to our primitive and organic origins. The beauty of simplicity in form and truth to materials are essential concerns to me. ‘‘Images of the Sea (Sail, Hull & F ish)’ responds to my daily visits to the sea observing colours, textures and shapes that appear in this environment.
Images of the Sea (Sail, Hull and Fish) Ceramic, 2006 Sail 45 x 37 x 23cm, Hull 26 x 54 x 20cm, Fish 17 x 70 x 16cm
Jill completed a Graduate Diploma of Fine Arts (Ceramics) at Monash University 1992 and has exhibited nationally and internationally since 1983 in a vast number of exhibitions and awards including the Gold Coast International Ceramic Awards, National Ceramic Award, Canberra, and National Craft Award, MAGNT, Darwin. Her international credits include New Zealand, New Delhi, London and Hong Kong. She has produced fourteen solo exhibitions of her works and has completed numerous commissions and artist residencies and worked for many years as a tutor and lecturer in ceramics.
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A shley Turner
the Garden Path
‘M oonscape’ is created from a singular
Moonscape Brown Verdite stone, 2005 33.5 x 31 x 10cm
Ashley is an emerging sculptor who specialises in works of exotic stone and wood. Based in his Glen Iris studio, he has slowly accumulated a unique resource of ancient and valuable natural materials, such as Huon Pine and Green Verdite. He combines these traditional materials to push their limits as contemporary sculpture. The texture and individual characteristics of the primary raw material are carefully analysed, often influencing the final result. Ashley focuses upon overall balance and a sense of proportion in his work, with a fine finish in the detailed aspects of each piece. To date, Ashley has worked to develop two careers simultaneously. With advanced degrees in law and biochemistry, he comes to the art world with a very unique perspective and desire to build quality artwork.
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piece of raw Verdite stone, utilising its natural vivid colour and immense density to represent the lunar form. ‘Moonscape’ is crafted to combine both smooth and roughened textures – a topographical view of the intricacies and tranquility of the moon. Verdite, also known as ‘African Jade’ is a very rare, semiprecious stone extracted by hand from a single known mine in Zimbabwe. With a hardness of 9/10 and having a scintillating array of densely packed colours, raw verdite is virtually unobtainable and is therefore one of the most valuable and sort-after materials in the world.
the Garden Path
Jos Van Hulsen
‘F ruits of Progress’ is part of an exploration into
man’s quest to manipulate and control the natural world. We lower mountains, straighten rivers, control the temperature where we can. We modify it, sculpt it, trim and neaten it to make our lives more comfortable. But are we comforted? Does all the ease, the technology, entertainment and endless consu mption make us more content? Is the rugged, messy and random beauty of the untouched world less beautiful than the manicured garden? Do we want to be gods? Or perhaps we think that if we can control nature we can somehow remove ourselves from it and from our own life cycle, thus avoiding the confrontation of our own inevitable death.
Fruits of Progress Steel, ceramic, stone, glass & oil, 2007 292 x 70 x 175cm
Jos was born in the Netherlands in 1963, migrating to Melbourne in 1978. He completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture at RMIT in 1986. In 2004 his work was shown in Sculpture by the Sea at Bondi Beach, Sydney and this year he was the recipient of the Encouragement Award at the Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award.
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Robert Waghorn
the Garden Path
T his is part of a series of works that explore
Power Grid Painted wood & ceramics, 2007 72 x 46 x 20cm
Robert was born in 1957 in Ballarat, Victoria, graduating with a Diploma of Fine Art 1984. In 1985 he travelled and studied art throughout Europe, the United Kingdom and Egypt, returning to complete a Graduate Diploma in 1986. Since 1987 he has completed fifteen solo exhibitions and participated in over thirty-six group shows. Originally trained as a painter, he now combines these skills with his whimsical sculptured forms and over the past few years his works have been selected for the Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition, the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize and the Toorak Village Festival of Sculpture. In 2007 he was the winner of the Moreland Sculpture Prize and his works are represented in collections throughout Australia, Japan, Britain, Austria, Sweden and Korea.
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current topics of discussion from everyday life, current affairs and the news. Interest rate rises, environmental concerns and energy shortages have resulted in loss of the Australian drea m. Once part of our culture to own our own homes, this has become increasingly difficult for the average wage earner to a point where it is swiftly becoming a thing of the past. This work explores notions of personal, physical and metaphysical power, empowerment and disempowerment. Power to the people, right on.
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C yrus, Wai Kuen Tang
I magine going into a house which is out of this
world. Nobody is there. Y ou open the doors and there are things that may belong to somebody else yet they speak to you. Can they really speak? Or is it actually the projection of your own fantasy? This installation intends to create a mysterious and uncanny journey into childhood memories and our fantasy which is sparkling but fleeting.
Finding Wonderland Old building materials & glass, 2007 2 cubic metres
Cyrus, Wai Kuen Tang migrated to Australia in 2003 and graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2004. Since then she has been working to develop her career, completing an artist residency in Tokoname in Japan in 2005 and exhibiting in solo and group exhibitions most recently Stephen McLaughlan Gallery and Westspace Gallery. As an Asian immigrant, she intends to create a dialogue between east and the west culture, reflecting her struggle to start her new life and the interchange between the past and the present. She is currently studying for her Masters at Monash University, and recently completed a commissioned project for the Frankston City Council.
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M ichael Walsh
the Garden Path
Divergence II Stainless steel, 2007 20 x 60 x 20cm
‘D vergence II’ is a metaphor, in three i
Originally from Horsham in western regional Victoria, Michael has lived and worked in Melbourne for over ten years. He recently returned to sculpture after a three-year break during which he undertook postgraduate studies at RMIT University. His works have been featured in outdoor sculpture exhibitions including the Moreland Sculpture Show in 2004 and 2007. In recent times he has focused on making smaller scale, indoor works - this reflects both his own sculptural explorations and the logistics of creating new work while living in the inner city. Michael is an active member of the Contemporary Sculptors Association serving on the Committee of Management between 1997-2000 and is currently developing a new website for the organization.
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dimensions, of the dyna mic pathways followed by life, ideas and culture over time. There are peaks and troughs but always constant, rhythmic, movement. Sometimes divergence occurs, a new pathway is formed, and things take off in a new direction. Life has always been like this.
the Garden Path
D avid Waters
Upper Right Back Leg Polystyrene & concrete, 2007 450 x 90 x 100cm
‘Y aps the dog lived in one of Melbourne’s newest suburbs. One day Yaps was digging in his back yard when he found … ‘
David is based in central Victoria but most of his sculptural work has been done in Melbourne. He studied at RMIT and VCA from 1982 to 1987 and has since worked in a wide range of mediums, from performance and installation work, to formal carving in stone and wood. Over the last few years he has turned his attentions to working with foam rubber and cast concrete, exhibiting in various group and solo shows. In 2005 he was the winner of the Montalto Sculpture Prize and also received a Highly Commended at the Yering Station Sculpture Prize in 2004. His most recent solo exhibition Tarpaulin was shown at Brightspace in St Kilda in August this year.
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D awn Whitehand
the Garden Path
T hrough using visually tactile surfaces and
Equilibrium Stoneware clay with volcanic glaze, 2007 44 x 33 x 20cm
Dawn completed Honours with High Distinctions for her Bachelor of Visual Arts in ceramics in 2004 and is currently undertaking her PhD at the University of Ballarat in regional Victoria. The title of her PhD project is Sacred Space in Contemporary Society and specifically asks: Can the artist, through ceramic installation, act as a conduit linking humanity’s secular and spiritual existence? Dawn is interested in exploring the organic references within the medium of clay, organic textured surfaces and undulating forms combining to conjure reactions within the viewer that trigger lost and forgotten responses toward community and the land. A recent winner of the Pat Emery Award for Emerging Artists, Dawn has artwork recently acquired in the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery collection and has recently been published in The Journal of Australian Ceramics. 58
suggesting movement through manipulation of form, I attempt to stimulate the viewers senses. The use of organic contours and tactile surfaces that reflect landscape elements offers a natural experience, heightening this sensory encounter, thus providing an escape from the superficialities of modern life and providing a moment of contemplation, reinvoking a sense of ourselves and our place upon the earth.
the Garden Path
L ih-Qun Wong
‘W hen there was time to drea m’ is a piece that explores creation in its most simplistic yet complex form. The battle for each hu man being begins here, yet the most miraculous battle is so easily forgotten. Is it here that vivid drea ming and imagination begins? And how quickly do we lose our memory of a softer and more compassionate time? This work was inspired from teaching creative writing to students from the ages of 8 through to 17. What has become startlingly apparent is that while some children are able to vividly imagine and visualise images in narrative as well as conceptually, others are completely unable to form these pictures. So where has the ability to visualise gone? Or was the capacity never formed in the first place, the imagination replaced by synthesised, ‘ready made,’ screen images. My work explores the degeneration of creative and imaging functions in our children (and adults) today that are a symptom of how technological advancement and wealth are not a sign of hu man progression, but a regression. That the inability to imagine, leads to a splintering of the view of self, and others, as it can only be gleaned, or imitated, through produced images – entertainment or the media.
When there was time to dream Silk, resin & electronics, 2007 20 x 50 x 60cm
Lih-Qun has a background in costume and wearable art, bringing together skills and a love of textile work, art finishing, prop making and thematic or conceptual designing. Treating fabrics in new and interesting ways, whilst still calling on technical construction skills is a particular interest, as is finding new ways to share her view of the world. This year sees Lih-Qun breaking out of from purely using textiles, in order to create ‘wearable’ art that is sculptural and able to be appreciated detached from the human form. These works seek to explore how we link with the internal and external influences in our lives, and the ever increasing need to be aware of how entrenched or dangerous this can become. 59
