Hot Diggity

My first solo show.

With two and a half weeks to prepare I deliberate…

Of course I have some old works that I could probably throw together, but that would be far too easy. No, I must create something new, something better. My living room will become my studio for the next two weeks, as I splatter, glue, cut and draw my new creations. The kitchen table is no longer for eating, the lounge, no longer for chilling. For the next two weeks I will not do laundry nor make the bed…

My poor boyfriend.

For the past year I have been exploring the contemporary medium of Facebook and so it seems only fitting that “Status Update” be selected for the title of my show. I have always found it fascinating, the things we like to broadcast about ourselves online, and I hoped that this exhibition would not only expose this façade, but also make fun at it.

“My boyfriend is the greatest man on the planet!”

“My baked dinner smells so amazing”

“Look at my new Prada shoes!” (I bought because I have such a wonderful high paying job)

really?? Come on, where are all the comments about your failed attempts at baking, your secret flings with your work colleges, and weight problems because of your self esteem issues??

Facebook, allows us to escape, and it’s this ability to portray the person who we wish we were, or perhaps who we think others expect us to be, which I find most interesting.

Installation day.

I Arrive downstairs with a giant cardboard box. Already I have a rough idea of how I want things to look, and so without wasting any time I grab a spirit level and drill and set to work!

I am slightly intimidated by Sanaz Hosseinabadi, currently setting up in Gallery one. Her large scale geometric shapes are impressive and with two hired men to help her for the next two days, I can only image how spectacular the finish product will be.

And here I am, all on my lonesome.

Well, luckily I have Kelly to help me out.

“Just a few cm higher” she speculates, as I balance on a ladder with artwork and spirit level in hand. The “Like Project” posses more installation problems as the tightly spaced photographs and my amateur hammering skills cause quite the disaster for my wee thumb.

The small price you pay for art I suppose.

Slowly but surely the works begin to fill the room until I can’t help but smile at the result.

Doneskis!

Time for a sit down and a beer.

Opening day.

I arrive with Mum and Dad, my number one fans. It’s always such a big event for the Gosford pair to head to the big smoke, and their expressions remind me of children on their first day of school, wide eyed and excited.

I lead them through gallery two where Erica Molesworth photographic and film exhibition is currently taking place. Images of barren landfills contrast lush green crops, and I instantly wonder how she was able to take photographs at such great heights.

A Helicopter perhaps?

The vibrantly coloured landscapes are beautifully portrayed and I instantly feel the need for a country escape.

Note to self, must organise a camping weekend away with friends.

Next is Sanaz Hosseinabadi, and just as I

had envisioned the final product of her show “Platonic Devine” was nothing short of remarkable. White, arithmetical shapes appear suspended as optical illusions throughout the monotone space…

It reminds me of a dream I am yet to have.

Perhaps because I have seen first hand the amount of work that went into installing, that I am able to appreciate the show from a deeper perspective.

Strangely enough nothing is for sale.

Now onto “status update.” My two friends Alex and Claire greet me with hugs and immediately begin commenting on the work.

“looks fantastic woman” remarks Claire

“Now I can’t afford your work!” jokes Alex.

For the next two hours I chat and swirl, talking art and life with a range of interesting people, some of whom I haven’t seen in a while. It’s at this moment that I feel the last two weeks of unwashed clothes and stacked up dishes has indeed, paid off.

Now for Thai at Sweeny’s with Mum and Dad.

It’s on my way out that I realise I haven’t popped into Lauren Hill’s Photographic show titled” Everything is horrible.”

“I’II meet you guys down there!” I call out.

I need a few moments to absorb the imagery.

Granny cakes with sinister messages, dogs dressed in pink jumpsuits..

So much Character it makes me smile…

Thanks again for another fun filled night Gaffa!

laminating and pencil skirting

I arrived at Gaffa much earlier than usual this week to assist Penny in pre-show chores. Printing room sheets, setting up the bar, laminating drink tickets.... I actually enjoy playing secretary, and feel that at the very least I was appropriately dressed for the tasks, pencil skirt and all.

It was the first time I had ever used a laminator, and I think Penny was confused by my excitement.

"But it goes in one way and comes out all professional!"
Such a useful invention, think I'll add that one to my birthday list.

After enough laminating to make a girl blush I headed upstairs to see how everything was coming along.

As always I was delighted.

In gallery 1, Wendy Jones’s sinister oil works instantly had me thinking 1950’s Mad Men, however the women in her paintings are much more interesting than the house wives featured on that television show. Rat Sack, super glue, shot gun???...

me thinks these woman are up to something.

Their expressions where captivating, and each work read like a dark narrative that only the grinning girl could tell.


Eduardo Wolfe-Alegria’s colour explosion in gallery 2 is truly eye opening. So much detail, it is hard to know where to look. It is clear that an amazing amount of work was put into these creations...

"Well, I started not last June, but the June before that." Wolfe- Alegria tells me.

It's easy to imagine.

Each painting appears like a shrine, generously adorned with an array of decorative plants, animals and people.

His line work alone was enough to make me drool...

Reluctantly I continued on. I was, after all, just supposed to be placing run sheets in each room and perhaps there was a secretarial emergency that Penny needed me for downstairs.

It took a second for my eyes to adjust in gallery 3.

Old fairytale books, black text, winter trees and peep hole boxes with carefully placed pillows sparsely occupied the room. Like Wendy's mischievous women, there is definitely something rather sinister and secretive about Elodie Silberstein's work.

Kneeling down in front of one of the peep holes, I felt like Alice in wonderland about to discover a new world. And indeed I did. A black and white video installation along with a tiny diorama gave me a glimpse into a night sky somewhere far outside of Sydney. If there’d been a little bottle with the words “drink me” written on it I’d have been game. I made a quick mental note to return later in the night with wine.

The SPI space around the corner was still in the process of installing. Two trendy art types, Tully Arnot and Charles Dennington seemed awfully relaxed considering their exhibition started in under two hours.

Both were chatting and joking amongst the tools and art objects.

I headed back down the stairs and discovered a typo in Wolfe-Alegria's runsheet. Oh dear. This was just the secretarial mistake I was worried about.

Just a quick reprint and we were back in business. Pencil skirt power!

Thanks again Gaffa!

Miss Zoe in action at Sterling.

Oopps.

Another day another show

I think it's only fair that i dedicate this blog to James's coffee, without which I wouldn't be able to write due to my pounding hangover...

Thank you caffeine, my dear friend.


Another Thursday, another show..

6.20pm
I arrived at Gaffa and engaged in some small talk with Zoe, mostly about clothing, and the singing artwork upstairs. Excited to see it all, I grabbed a beverage and my boyfriend then followed the sweet melodies coming from above.

6.30pm
I strolled past the bathrooms and saw that, low and behold we had soap... Off to a good start.

6.31pm

And there she was, Patricia Alvarez in all her beautiful, hairy glory. Kath Fries had done an amazing job with the installation and I instantly felt like I was a part of the work, trapped in the very web that had captured a singing princess. With two glasses of white wine at her feet, (perhaps for stage confidence,) Patricia twirled and knotted her hair for two hours.

Her voice was reminiscent of Ariel from the little mermaid, and I suppose it was rather easy to imagine that we all where on the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by seaweed, drifting in it's currents. Seaweed, like hair, does have a textural quality that most find discomforting, and it's this discomfort which, contrasted with her soothing voice, was for me, what I found most intriguing.

As an urban woman, I spend a lot of money on hair. Colours, treatments, blow dry’s… Watching Alvatrez tease and split her ends was, certainly cringe worthy for me. However her expression never changed. Calm, composed and often trance like Alvarez remained, almost oblivious to the chattings of those watching on.

"Come here" I called out to my boy friend. When he arrived, I pulled hair off his back, only to have the strands slowly float down and stick to my shoe, dammit.

By now, hair balls were finding their way into every room of the gallery like dirty parasites…

but I kinda liked it.

6.50pm

Anything that has a warning on the door must be good. Perhaps this is my inner naughty child talking here, but either way I was keen to see what all the fuss was about with Steve Frizza’s ‘Connection Lost’.

His concept was brilliant. 5000 different individuals from around the world, given 5-15 minutes of webcam time, to do, pretty much what ever they wanted.

And it seemed that most wanted to get naked.

Stills from his conversations were then taken and transformed into wall paper which completely covered the walls, giving it a almost claustrophobic feel similar to Alvarez and Fries work from the room before.

The imagery was to say the very least, extremely confronting, and at times even physically confusing. To be frank, it was a genital party.

However what I found most interesting is that men where given only 5 mins of chat time, where as woman where given 15 mins. I guess this means woman need a little extra time and encouragement to take our pants off?

Personally I would definitely need at least a glass of pinot, a few compliments and perhaps even some Marvin Gaye before I would be exposing any nipples. Maybe Steve Frizza could fit all that into 15 minutes? Seems like he must be a smooth talker.

7.00pm

The oddly complimentary works of Ivan and Katherine Buljan Metropos awaited us in the next room. One artist’s bright, happy, almost child-like works contrasted by the other’s dark photographic imagery reminiscent of a hobbit’s vacation pictures from Mordor. Having the two displayed interchangeably in the same gallery space really made the observer acutely aware of the stylistic decisions each artist had made.

Ivan Bulijan’s work continued into gallery 3. Beer bottles, a stark filmless projector, burnt books hanging from coat hangers, staging miniature battle scenes. All very intense!

7.15 pm

We finished off the circuit in a room running 5 video portraits by Hugh Marchant. Unfortunately it was really crowded so we decided to return later and enjoy the films at our leisure.

7.20pm
Our heads full of art, we headed across the road to Sweeny's pub to meet my friend Alex. I’ve known her for years and her brutal honesty is always refreshing at arty events.

“A girl……knotting her hair into a web?? But why? Sure I’ll come!”

The sun was beginning to set over the city, and so we decided to stay for a cheeky one on the roof top amidst the nine to fivers.

7.45pm

Back to Gaffa. I was keen to see how deep Alvarez was in her web, but by this stage she had begun unravelling herself. A loud applause erupted as the last strands where detached.

7.45pm

Another lap, and it was time for good bye. On leaving I heard a broken glass, that makes two for two.

Maybe we should look at getting plastic cups.

Thanks again for a fun filled evening Gaffa!