Uncanny (the unnaturally strange)
Signage, designed by Warren Olds
Installation view
Nell
Michael Zavros
Nell
Not Without My Tail 2004
crocodile tail, enamel paint, epoxy joining compound, gold leaf, card, varnish
overall dimensions 103 x 109.5 x 31.5cm
courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
Installation view
Nell
Fiona Hall
John Lyall
Louise Hearman
Untitled #909 2002
oil on masonite, 30 x 30cm
Untitled # 1028 2002
oil on masonite, 36 x 39cm
Untitled # 1042 2003
oil on masonite, 35 x 31cm
Untitled # 990 2003
oil on masonite, 61 x 61cm
Untitled # 1023 2003
oil on masonite, 26 x 25cm
courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
Sally Marsland
almost black 2001
brooches, dimensions variable
courtesy of the artist and Gallery Funaki, Melbourne
Sally Marsland
almost black 2001
brooches: slate, oxidised silver, King Billy pine coloured with ink, Paulownia dyed with textile dye, car filler mixed with powdered graphite, epoxy resin mixed with powdered graphite, bone dyed with textile dye (ossobuco leftovers)
dimensions variable
courtesy of the artist and Gallery Funaki, Melbourne
Lisa Reihana and Beata Batorowicz
Tammy’s Tenticles 2003
sewn goat skins, kangaroo skins, leather, dimensions variable
feathers fones foxy: Maui's leather strands deliver you 2003
deer antlers, cowhorn, fox fur, feathers, paint, dimensions variable
Whakamarumaru Kura 2003
deer antlers, paint, dimensions variable
sound
Lisa Reihana and Beata Batorowicz
Tammy’s Tenticles 2003
sewn goat skins, kangaroo skins, leather, dimensions variable
feathers fones foxy: Maui's leather strands deliver you 2003
deer antlers, cowhorn, fox fur, feathers, paint, dimensions variable
Whakamarumaru Kura 2003
deer antlers, paint, dimensions variable
sound
Pat Brassington
Crush, Drummer and The Wedding Guest from ‘You’re so Vein’ series 2005
pigment print, 86 x 63cm, edition of 6
courtesy of the artist and Stills Gallery, Sydney
Julia deVille
Gunclub 2004
mouse, natural diamonds, jet, 9ct gold, 18ct gold, 2.5 x 3.2 x 4cm
Mouse Mourning Brooch 2003
mouse, sterling silver, natural emeralds, 4 x 8 x 2cm
Mouse-pin 2004
mouse, sterling silver, natural rubies, 18ct gold, 2.5 x 15.5cm
Memento Mori Skull 2004
bird skull, cubic zirconia, sterling silver, 5 x 2.3 x 2.5cm
Installation view
Julia deVille
Fiona Hall, Tender , 2005
US dollars, dimensions variable
courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
Installation view
Nell
Louise Hearman
Installation view main gallery
Fiona Hall
John Lyall
John Lyall
Old Palace, Upstairs; show yourself the taxidermy collection, 2005
C-type print, 100 x 277cm
Corridor, Parked Megafauna, 2005
C-type print , 105 x 155cm
Birds in front of a Depiction of their Habitat, 2005
C-type print , 155 x 105cm
Dioramic Intervention Snow Leopards. Red Carpet, 2004
C-type print, 100 x 150cm
courtesy of the artist and 40 George Street, Auckland
Peter Madden
Lost: A Slithery Sliver of a Moment 2005
gold leaf, found horn, dimensions variable
courtesy of the artist and Michael Lett Gallery, Auckland
Peter Madden
Lost: A Slithery Sliver of a Moment 2005
gold leaf, flies, cicada, nail clippings, found bone, rice, found pills, chewing gum
dimensions variable
courtesy of the artist and Michael Lett Gallery, Auckland
Samantha Mitchell
Kiss It Better Again 2005
watercolour on recycled pages from library books, 30 pieces, approx. 15 x 23cm each
courtesy of the artist and Anna Bibby Gallery, Auckland
Kylie Stillman
Chinese Elm 2005
books with wooden plinth, 48 x 34 x 25.5cm
Rebusta Green 2005
books with wooden plinth, 36 x 34 x 33cm
courtesy the artist and Utopia Art Gallery, Sydney
Pat Brassington (AUS)
Julia deVille (AUS)
Fiona Hall (AUS)
Louise Hearman (AUS)
John Lyall (AUS/NZ)
Peter Madden (NZ)
Sally Marsland (AUS)
Samantha Mitchell (NZ)
Nell (AUS)
Lisa Reihana (NZ )
Beata Batorowicz (AUS)
Kylie Stillman (AUS)
Michael Zavros (AUS)
Curated by Rhana Devenport, International Curator in Residence
The quirky, the uncanny and the unexpected are corralled together in Uncanny (the unnaturally strange). The exhibition presses against materiality, its slipperiness and meaning, particularly the considered transformation of substances into the realm of the 'unnaturally strange'. Lying low between the feral and the precious, these artists question what 'naturally' exists and rework materials to form ciphers for untold narratives.
Sigmund Freud introduced the concept of 'uncanny' aesthetic theory (the German word being Unheimlichkeit, which literally translates as 'un-home-like-ness'). Freud coined the word 'uncanny' to describe distinctive aesthetic experiences elicited by art works associated with certain feelings of mild distress, anxiety or disquiet. This exhibition investigates this idea in relation to work by leading and emerging Australian and New Zealand artists. New conceptions of 'what is natural' are proposed as questions are asked about the fault lines that exist across the nature/culture divide.
Included in the exhibition are artists who work with unlikely materials such as US dollar bills, a crocodile tail, car filler, slate, flies, feathers, fur, books, diamonds and sound, as well as time-honoured processes such as oil painting, gold leafing, watercolour and taxidermy.
The exhibition features new bodies of work by leading artists from the region including Fiona Hall, John Lyall, Lisa Reihana and Pat Brassington as well as fresh work by younger artists of note such as Nell, Michael Zavros and Peter Madden.
Uncanny (the unnaturally strange) is the second of three exhibitions curated by ARTSPACE's current International Curator in Residence, Rhana Devenport. Rhana joins the ARTSPACE team from Australia. Her most recent exhibition for ARTSPACE was Slow Rushes for Auckland and her next exhibition in late August will be Compelled: New Artists 2005, ARTSPACE's Annual New Artists Exhibition. Rhana brings a wealth of experience and energy to her residence, having worked with major institutions and projects internationally, the most epic of which being the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.
The ARTSPACE International Curator in Residence was designed to offer an international curator the opportunity to realise three exhibitions in a top contemporary art space, and for the ARTSPACE community to experience a new curatorial voice before Brian Butler arrives in September to take up the position of Director of ARTSPACE.