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