Scott Miles, Nocturne (daytime, night light), 2013, oil on board, 36 x 45cm
Slip draws together works containing a suggestion of change. Slight and subtle slips that may be almost imperceptible, yet nevertheless present.
The artists’ works cross over numerous mediums and as such the exhibition will include painting, collage, sculpture and installation based works. Each artist’s practice is highly individual, as too is the way in which the artists’ works link and respond to the theme of the exhibition – each in their own way hinting at a possibility of shift.
The notion of the ever-changing landscape – that of salt flats and ice fields – is captured within the work of Emma Hamilton and Scott Miles. For Emma Hamilton, the salt lakes within Victoria’s Mallee region provide an ongoing reference point. These flat, white, expansive landscapes are continuously changing as, with each rainfall, the dense layer of salt which makes up the extensive terrain is recast – different from how it was before, yet still the same.
A similar observation of the changing landscape could be construed from the paintings of Scott Miles, whose recent work is concerned with snowy landscapes and ice fields. The focus here, however, appears to be more concerned with the morphing abilities of colour and light. To research these works Miles travelled to Greenland, north of the polar circle in order to experience the polar night – an expanse of days when the sun does not rise above the horizon, turning day into a lingering twilight and night into an almost impenetrable blackness.
Travel is also important to the work of Elyse de Valle, who will soon travel to Italy to continue her research into the life and work of renowned sculptor, Charles Francis Summers. De Valle’s work takes a kaleidoscopic approach to the past and present. Creating schisms and shifts in time, she distorts and multiplies events, overlaying her experiences and actions with that of a predecessor.
Gian Manic explores the ability to recognize the self, and the difference in the self as reflected. Through his paintings of reflective surfaces, mirrors and foils, Manic examines a slippage between the object and the image. In these works, Manic addresses the mirror itself, presenting us with an inversion of the traditional self-portrait.
Anna Varendorff’s delicate sculptural works draw lines through space. Her refined brass structures suggest that movement and interaction are possible – that these lines may traverse the gallery, yet no change occurs. The viewer is presented with a series of static objects, whose inherent harmony between light and shadow imply movement.
Sam Fagan’s works also feature items that appear to circumvent function. Interested in simple acts of defiance, Fagan utilises everyday items: the chair and the newspaper – altering these forms to a point where they can no longer serve their intended purpose. Whilst large traces of the original state and function remain, interventions and a sense of unrest drive the pieces into new territory.
Migration is likewise a key concern in Laura Carthew’s new works. Interested in ritual and memorialisation, Carthew’s photographic works featuring a burning boat communicate both these concerns. The works also speak of tragedy, as we trace the boat’s progression from form to ashes.
As a viewer of this exhibition, you are invited to explore the small transitions that are apparent in each work: the changes, slippages and shifts.
– Tahlia Jolly, April 2014
This exhibition includes work by artists: Laura Carthew, Sam Fagan, Emma Hamilton, Gian Manik, Scott Miles, Elyse De Valle and Anna Varendorff.