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30 september - 17 october 2009
opening night drinks wednesday 30 september 6 - 8pm
JANE POYNTER AND CHRISTINE WOOD
One Place: Two Views
What makes a place meaningful, and what does 'place-making' involve? This exhibition takes the form of a photographic dialogue between two artists working with ideas of urban space and placement.
For the past few months, Jane and Christine have embarked on numerous exploratory journeys around the streets of their local neighbourhood, North Melbourne. First scouting out locations of personal significance, the artists then travelled separately to these areas to capture images of the surrounding environment. As they explain, 'We both work from home, have family who live in the area, shop locally, and frequent the same dentist, doctor and coffee shops. We avoid leaving our space if possible and we often don't leave for days on end. And although our paths cross daily, we only meet occasionally by chance and more often by arrangement. For this project we set out to explore our local environment separately to create a personal record and then bring our different views together in a single picture frame.' Like a renegade cartography, One Place: Two Views maps different interpretations of place within the same visual plane.
Jane Poynter and Christine Wood are photographers based in North Melbourne. They have both been regularly exhibiting for over a decade, and have previously collaborated on several exhibitions.
An email dialogue documenting the progress of this project can be found at http://oneplacetwoviews.tumblr.com
Foreign Bodies
In this exhibition of new drawings, Morgan Simpson views the appearance of foreign elements around Melbourne's waterways as clues toward uncovering synthetic histories. The banks of the Yarra are over-run with non-native flora and fauna, and marked with signs of urban interference. Industrial membranes shelter and bind growing trees while, as Simpson notes, 'discarded plastic stories from the drains lie in the memory of the river. These foreign bodies create strange new landscapes and narratives over the past, as cycles and systems are altered and interrupted.' Working with acrylic, charcoal and pencil on paper, Simpson carefully abstracts these mini-ecologies into detailed compositions of restrained form and delicate line.
Morgan Simpson studied animation and interactive multimedia at RMIT and VCA, and has worked as an animator for ABC Film and SBS. He has previously held several solo exhibitions of drawings in Perth; this is his first in Melbourne.
Morgan Simpson, Tendrils (detail), drawing on paper, 2009
Salvage
Boyd Hughes makes abstract sculptural constructions using found and salvaged materials including scrap metal, plastic, copper wiring and power cords. Some are fitted with lighting elements to create glowing contortions silhouetted in space; others are free-standing or wall-mounted and feature highly textured oxidised surfaces.
Boyd's interest lies in diverting the normative use of materials found throughout the industrial realm. Salvage is an exhibition on a rescue-mission. Each work incorporates tactics of recycling and repurposing as a means to revitalise abandoned goods and to shift established meanings. The sculptural forms evolve from an eclectic fusion of media, showcasing beauty in the discarded while exuding a playful humour.
Boyd Hughes’ background is in industrial design. He works as an electrician by day and as an artist around the clock. He is currently in his second semester of Studio Art at Latrobe College of Art and Design. Salvage is his first solo exhibition.
