16 October - 13 December
Launch of the Joondalup Contemporary Art Gallery and 25 year anniversary of the Joondalup Invitation Art Prize
Featuring Tom Blake, Sam Bloor, Bruno Booth, Erin Coates, Sarah Elson, Tim Meakins, Sherry Quiambo, Andy Quilty, Anna Louise Richardson, Tyrown Waigana. Curated by Tim Carter.
'You're late, Gem.' whispered my old boss as I sidled past, hoping to go unnoticed, speeches well underway.
It was good to roll back into Joondy last night. Past Emperor Gum Moth, through some kind of festive night-market in the town center, and for once I totally bypassed the shopping mall.
Unheard of.
I could say that Joondalup is also late to the party, having finally built a gallery after 25 years of presenting this gem of an art prize in the mall. I do feel that this addition to Perth's contemporary gallery scene is much needed and is long overdue, not only for Joondalup residents but for the wider arts scene. Having a proper cultural venue for this important annual event is a game-changer, and the launch neatly coincides with the 25 year anniversary of the Invitation Art prize. Seeing this year's selection presented in a well lit, comfortable and reasonably sized gallery space helps position it as the serious prize that it has always aspired to be, and allows each artwork to speak and shine, as they should, because there are some stars here.
Sam Bloor took top prize with his site-specific installation, Chance Encounter, a playful work that will sit comfortably in the Joondalup Collection, alongside notable installation pieces such as Kate McMillan's Internal Histories from 2012.
Stand outs for me are Anna Louise Richardson's series of charcoal drawings of introduced plants, you know I'm a sucker for a botanical study. Anna says these plants - oleander, prickly pear, bougainvillea, lantana and lavender - are markers of ideologies and evocative of loss - "beneath the weight of continual occupation". The series is tight and accurate, despite being of considerable scale, they maintain a sense of intimacy. The are reminiscent of Gillian Treichel's series from 1990, also housed in the Joondalup Collection, although that series features native species.
Sherry Quiambo's work is in striking contrast, still with botanicals and fruits, but with juicy, saturated colour and seductive, glossy surfaces. Reflective gold textures and a surreal video work encased in a slowly revolving cabinet emphasize consumer culture and make me think about the endless grind of exploitative capitalist greed, the work also draws parallels with the sexual symbiology of flowers, fruit and luxury items.
Erin Coates. I am in awe of her skill, in craft and in concept. Bronze bones contrast with soft flesh and fur, evoking trauma, body horror and animal-human entanglements. I saw some of these pieces being prepared for the exhibition in Erin's studio recently and enjoyed hearing her speak about the residency in Albany that led to creating this body of work. She has explored a collection of rare deep sea specimens in the Museum of the Great South and simultaneously recalls incidents recalled from childhood where bones where fractured and broken. Now cast in bronze, these bones have become unbreakable. For me, the power of this work is in the visceral reaction it provokes, forcing the viewer to occupy an uncomfortable realm between revulsion and attraction, and also the way that it encompasses land and sea, human and non-human, otherworldly and corporeal.
The occasion is marked by a publication by Mess Books, Looking Across The Lake, edited by Emma Pegrum, Matthew McAlpine and Tim Carter, and featuring essays by Gemma Weston, Robert Cook, Matthew McAlpine and a poetry by Cass Lynch.
Launch of the Joondalup Contemporary Art Gallery and 25 year anniversary of the Joondalup Invitation Art Prize
Featuring Tom Blake, Sam Bloor, Bruno Booth, Erin Coates, Sarah Elson, Tim Meakins, Sherry Quiambo, Andy Quilty, Anna Louise Richardson, Tyrown Waigana. Curated by Tim Carter.
'You're late, Gem.' whispered my old boss as I sidled past, hoping to go unnoticed, speeches well underway.
It was good to roll back into Joondy last night. Past Emperor Gum Moth, through some kind of festive night-market in the town center, and for once I totally bypassed the shopping mall.
Unheard of.
I could say that Joondalup is also late to the party, having finally built a gallery after 25 years of presenting this gem of an art prize in the mall. I do feel that this addition to Perth's contemporary gallery scene is much needed and is long overdue, not only for Joondalup residents but for the wider arts scene. Having a proper cultural venue for this important annual event is a game-changer, and the launch neatly coincides with the 25 year anniversary of the Invitation Art prize. Seeing this year's selection presented in a well lit, comfortable and reasonably sized gallery space helps position it as the serious prize that it has always aspired to be, and allows each artwork to speak and shine, as they should, because there are some stars here.
Sam Bloor took top prize with his site-specific installation, Chance Encounter, a playful work that will sit comfortably in the Joondalup Collection, alongside notable installation pieces such as Kate McMillan's Internal Histories from 2012.
Stand outs for me are Anna Louise Richardson's series of charcoal drawings of introduced plants, you know I'm a sucker for a botanical study. Anna says these plants - oleander, prickly pear, bougainvillea, lantana and lavender - are markers of ideologies and evocative of loss - "beneath the weight of continual occupation". The series is tight and accurate, despite being of considerable scale, they maintain a sense of intimacy. The are reminiscent of Gillian Treichel's series from 1990, also housed in the Joondalup Collection, although that series features native species.
Sherry Quiambo's work is in striking contrast, still with botanicals and fruits, but with juicy, saturated colour and seductive, glossy surfaces. Reflective gold textures and a surreal video work encased in a slowly revolving cabinet emphasize consumer culture and make me think about the endless grind of exploitative capitalist greed, the work also draws parallels with the sexual symbiology of flowers, fruit and luxury items.
Erin Coates. I am in awe of her skill, in craft and in concept. Bronze bones contrast with soft flesh and fur, evoking trauma, body horror and animal-human entanglements. I saw some of these pieces being prepared for the exhibition in Erin's studio recently and enjoyed hearing her speak about the residency in Albany that led to creating this body of work. She has explored a collection of rare deep sea specimens in the Museum of the Great South and simultaneously recalls incidents recalled from childhood where bones where fractured and broken. Now cast in bronze, these bones have become unbreakable. For me, the power of this work is in the visceral reaction it provokes, forcing the viewer to occupy an uncomfortable realm between revulsion and attraction, and also the way that it encompasses land and sea, human and non-human, otherworldly and corporeal.
The occasion is marked by a publication by Mess Books, Looking Across The Lake, edited by Emma Pegrum, Matthew McAlpine and Tim Carter, and featuring essays by Gemma Weston, Robert Cook, Matthew McAlpine and a poetry by Cass Lynch.
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