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Impermanent Durations; On Painting and Time
No full textBACKGROUND The Directors of ICA and the BHAC invited the artists to create site sensitive collaborations. Both exhibitions were peer reviewed received research funds from the respective universities, support from the National Arts Council Singapore. The three artist/researchers had previously individually explored how colour, matter, installation, painting and photography offer ways of negotiating our understanding of time and impermanence. They wanted to test what would occur when their ideas were brought together In a collaborative manner in specific venues. CONTRIBUTION Impermanent Durations demonstrated through a series of provocations and reflective experiences how painting could manifest composite experiences of time and place in a site senstive manner, question authorship, reveal local and global interactions and encourage attentive looking . The project investigated the relationship between painting's reflexivity as picture/object and the real space of the gallery. Each venue required different installation solutions, techniques, materiality and works. Each questioned our perceptions and apprehension of how content changes over time. New composites of eastern and western pictorial conventions were combined to expand our experience of time and of painting. SIGNIFICANCE Ongoing research connections between 3 university artschools were esrablished . New artworks, combinations of imagery, hanging solutions were developed . Individual authorship was underplayed, each artist worked cooperatively to create experiences of time/complexity. Public lectures contextualised the exhibition Press coverage from the Straits Times Singapore is attched . A catalogue funded NAC Singapore is in production. A third iteration in 2017 at Lancaster University, will futher develop the findings from the exhibitions
Section of Sensation
No full textRESEARCH BACKGROUND: 'Section of sensation' was a submission to the inaugural Tapestry Design Prize for Architects, an initiative of The Australian Tapestry Workshop. The prize was established to engage architects and designers with the art of tapestry and to reinvigorate the centuries long tradition of the role of tapestry as architecture (Semper, an architectural historian claims the first architecture was woven wall). The competition brief asked for designs to respond to the new Australian Pavilion in Venice as a hypothetical site. The call for submission was national and drew an enthusiastic response from a number of key Australian architects. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION: The concept of 'Section of sensation' was developed by myself, and I then invited collaborators to develop the creative work submission. My research engages with interior/interiority and also textiles (for example, 'a matter of time. 16th Tamworth Fibre Textile Biennial' where, as commissioned curator, I explored time and affect through a selection of textile and fibre works that toured). The Tapestry Prize brief presented an opportunity to research the potential of textiles as an interior intervention that produced an encounter with sensation. Rosamund Scott, a PhD candidate I am supervising, engaged her research into watercolour painting as part of the submission. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: From a total of 42 entries for the prize, 'Section of sensation' was shortlisted as 1 of 8 finalists. The judging panel was composed of an esteemed architect, academic, art curator, textile artist and architectural photographer. Our submission together with the other short-listed works was then presented in an exhibition at the Australian Tapestry Workshop, Melbourne and later, at the Stylecraft Sydney Showroom - a commercial interior design showroom engaging an audience who came from across textiles and interior design/architecture
Ice Filter - Installation of Jewellery and Silversmithing
No full textResearch Background This research explores Antarctic landscape through the situating of the precious jewellery and silversmithing object. The frozen terrane of Antarctica is a repository that provides a record of the developments and changes to our environment and atmosphere. The work presented reflects on the value of the research of ice since the 1960s. This has allowed prehistoric air to be analysed and remarkable findings to be drawn from this data. Ice samples are precious artefacts in their own right, for the information that they can provide at this time when the environment is increasingly under threat from artificial pollutants. Research Significance This research was presented at the newly refurbished public institution, TE URU WAITAKERE CONTEMPORARY GALLERY. "The 30th anniversary of the organisation first opening Lopdell House as an art centre, and the extraordinary journey that has led a local community organisation to become one of the most respected contemporary galleries in Aotearoa" Research Contribution Ice filter is an installation of jewellery and a wall work with over forty ceramic and vitreous enamel forms that reference the ice core samples collected and analysed in Antarctica. This work is original in its material explorations and use of southern ice porcelain, vitreous enamels and reflector beads. The work has been created at temperatures over 1000 degrees and creates a wall work that reflects on the sampling of ice through its delicate surface. This solo exhibition positions jewellery objects using advanced material research of ceramic techniques combined with industrial metal enamels and glass
The New World navigates between the flags of the Old World
No full textBACKGROUND. The artist book gained recognition as a distinct genre of the visual arts in the 1970s, becoming central to the development of conceptual art. The medium has spawned numerous specialist critical publications and institutions including The Center for Book Arts in New York and the Artists' Books + Multiples Fair in Brisbane. The flag book structure, developed by Hedi Kyle in 1979, has become an influential structure in contemporary bookmaking. The Old World navigates between the flags of the New World reconfigures illustrations of flags and coats of arms from Soviet-era Estonian encyclopaedias, forming part of a conscious move towards more sustainable production strategies through the use of recycled materials which, in turn, drive content. The book alludes to ongoing trans-national migrations that continually adjust a country's cultural make-up - highly topical in an era of Brexit and the current political re-evaluations of Australia's immigration policy. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION. In making a flag book from flags, the work considers the capacity for the book structure itself to drive content. The reconfigured flags and coats of arms create new allegiances, challenging the idea of an inviolable symbol of one's national or cultural identity. Rather, the book presents these symbols in a state of flux and open to re-negotiation. Appositely, following the folding of the Soviet Union, a number of the national emblems themselves are themselves already redundant. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE. The Incinerator Art Award is a nationally significant award highlighting the role art can play in addressing pressing social concerns. The 2018 award attracted over 300 entries Australia wide, with 33 finalists selected by a judging panel consisting of Max Delany (director, ACCA), Melissa Keys (curator, Buxton Contemporary) and Mark Feary (Artistic director, Gertrude Contemporary). Selection as a finalist reflects recognition of excellence in the field at a national level
Sparkling Dew-Covered Branch
No full textResearch Background Every Brilliant Eye: Australian Art of the 1990s explores a decade in Australian art. Weaver's sculpture Sparkling dew covered branch is considered in relation to this period of dramatic change as artists adopted new technologies and increasingly heterogeneous approaches to making art. In this context she asks, "How can a crochet covered sculptural form be apprehended as both rigid and mutable?" Research Contribution First exhibited in 2003, this white sculpture was originally hung low on a contrasting dark grey wall to highlight its form. In this most recent (2017) exhibition, the work is seen as distinctly different - positioned high on a white wall. Presented in this way, I noticed that the form appeared less as a rigid structure; instead it seemed to emphasize it as subtle tonal gestures of light and shade across the surface of the wall. This observation has led to breakthroughs in developing both content and processes for my recent "white" paintings. Knowledge that has led to the development of an innovative system of first layering "skins" of paint upon malleable plastic, before applying them to alternate canvas supports as textured "collage". Research Significance NGV Senior Curator of Australian Art, Jane Devery and NGV Curator, Pip Wallis curated Every Brilliant Eye: Australian Art Of The 1990's. An exhibition exploring a decade in Australian art and featuring key works from the National Gallery of Victoria collection augmented by works from other institutions and private collections. It includes a sculpture by Weaver alongside works by Susan Norrie, Narelle Jubelin, and Emily Kam Kngwarray. The work also features in the Gallery's education programme and publicity for the exhibition
A shape of thought
No full textBACKGROUND: This work is part of a research study into site and temporal specificity, in relation to the notions of new materialism, the occult, feminist theologies and the post human. It draws together a body of work as a way of thinking through symbolism, symmetry and abstraction as mediums for mythologies and their social and political functions. The research is situated at the intersection of sculpture, painting, installation and performance.<br>CONTRIBUTION: 'A shape of thought' was a solo survey show across 4 rooms at AGNSW, representing years of practice. The experience is choreographed through time, materiality and form. The overarching question was around the geometry we employ to organise our thoughts, architectures, bodies, societies and belief systems. The work is physical, accessible, experiential and abstract. It accentuates our relation to geometry through spatial configurations that allow the viewer a re-cognition of embodied knowledge of the familiar. This viewer’s experience is manipulated through a carefully chosen materiality of colour, scale shifts, matter, space, gravity and social behaviours.<br>SIGNIFICANCE: The AGNSW is a prestigious national institution. The show well-received and visited by international curators, art historians, collectors and gallerists. I had meetings with the director of Metropolitan Museum of Art NY, and the Palais Tokyo in Paris. A major new work was acquired by the AGNSW and 2 large paintings gifted. Another large painting sold to Michael Buxton. Wayne Tunnicliff was the curator and an extensive monograph was published. I received money from a competitive round of grants from the Australia Council. The work was reviewed in the Monthly magazine, newspapers, TV coverage and 'Everyone’s a Critic.’
Mondspiel
No full textBACKGROUND: <br>This work is based on research into the Bauhaus diaspora. It explores how contemporary artists might re-imagine their relationship to the legendary school, specifically the works of Gertrude Herzger-Seligmann and Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack, along with Paul Keel and others. The study led to the creative work Mondspiel, which draws on collaborative efforts in sculpture, performance, video and installation, to present a new engagement with Bauhaus.<br>CONTRIBUTION:<br>Mondspiel was produced in collaboration with artist Justene Williams. The first-floor gallery displayed rare Bauhaus archival material from two former Bauhaus students exiled to Australia, Gertrude Herzger-Seligmann and Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack. In the more historical section of the upstairs gallery, the exhibition comprised a live thistle garden in relation to artist Paul Klee’s painting ‘Thistle’. Performance on the opening night, video and sculpture created a contemporary interpretation or conversation with the dynamic of art education begun by the Bauhaus 100 years ago. The project also included a lantern parade led by art students through the centre of Melbourne, described by Mikala Dwyer as ‘our attempt at reanimating the memory ghost of the actual dynamic of education’. The lanterns were made during a week-long workshop that began each day with Johannes Itten’s Mazdaznan exercises. It brought together students the Victorian College of the Arts, RMIT and Griffith University. The entire project contributed innovative expressions of the legacy of Bauhaus—both for contemporary artists and for art education—highlighting its visionary, collectivist ideals and its radical practices.<br>SIGNIFICANCE: Mondspiel received a $30,000 Australia council grant. It was included in the exhibition ‘Bauhaus Now!' curated by Ann Stephen. Buxton Contemporary is a prestigious art museum with high national standing. The exhibition was extremely well received, reviewed and had record attendances
sculpture
No full textBackground: Weaver has contributed significant research into the Fine Art applications of textiles, in particular soft sculpture. Soft sculpture has its antecedents in Surrealist artworks, such as Meret Oppenheim's Object, 1936. Softness may also be associated with abject qualities: references to the body; to humble materials and discarded matter. Softness in sculpture not only refers to the materials, but also the forms, which are mutable and beckon touch. Moreover, softness in art emerges from the history of feminism. The word soft also suggests a quiet sound. In the context of these ideas, Weaver asks 'how can a soft sculpture create a metaphoric 'sounding' between the animate and inanimate'? <br>Contribution: Selected for a national exhibition exploring the act of making through the framework of obsession, Weaver’s work combines techniques of crochet, papier-mache, wood carving and gilding with a cast aluminium antler, to create an imagined listening device to poetically capture and magnify sound. The work generated discussion around such diverse social concerns as climate change, health issues and human rights, and led to new research for future artworks. <br>Significance: Curated by ADC CEO and Artistic Director Lisa Cahill and Penny Craswell and presented at one of Australia's leading centres for contemporary craft and design, the exhibition was developed and toured under a Visions of Australia research (2018 - 2021) by the Federal Government's Visions of Australia program. It featured sculpture by Weaver alongside works by Lorraine Connelly-Northey, Tjunkaya Tapaya and Liz Williamson. A catalogue, film, and education program (lecture by Weaver) accompanied the exhibition. The exhibition was reviewed in the International journal: UK Crafts Magazine July/August 2018. It was toured from 2018 to 2022 to 13 regional and public galleries, with an audience of over 92,800 people and 6,595 people attending 75 public programs. The films were viewed over 14,000 times
Domain - Downtown - Commune
No full textBACKGROUND<br>Commissioned by MINI, MINI Living (brand pillars of the BMW Group) and Green Press to conduct research and produce three large format physical models for a public exhibition demonstrating conceptual and prototypical works engaging with high density urban living in the tower and high-rise typology. The public exhibition from 17-26 October 2017 was curated by Tamsin O’Neill and Tom Bodycomb, in the MPavilion at the Hellenic Museum in Melbourne, partnered with the City of Melbourne. The research was featured alongside esteemed architectural practices. There is a lack of design and research into the internal diversity of living environments and cross programming in high rise towers. <br><br>CONTRIBUTION<br>Innovation in the domain of contextual urban analysis and high-rise architecture, and the tower typology investigating how the design of environments catalyses urban communities. Research contributed to the discourse of diversity in architectural type through differentiation in formal characteristics within the tower, programmatic adjacency and intensity of program and spatial experience. The knowledge produced was in the domain of urban architecture and urban design focusing on small scale high impact public, shared and private spaces. The research has benefits for the profession (architecture, urban design, urban planning), city councils, developers as well as other stakeholders and inhabitants of hyper density.<br><br>SIGNIFICANCE<br>Prof. Rob Adams AM opened the proceedings, and acknowledged the contribution made by the project to understanding behaviour rather than facades
Untitled
No full textResearch Background This permanent wall work entails a site responsive painting as the winning commission for the Royal Como Art Prize. Working on the wall crosses the boundaries of architecture and painting, dissolving the traditional categories of art and design. In this project I was investigating how to create an illusionary wall painting in the foyer of an apartment building that initially appears as geometric abstraction but is revealed as a representational painting of a form in space as residents move through the lobby, activating colours, light and shadows in the work. Research Contribution Working directly onto the walls of the foyer allowed the inherent qualities of the wall to operate as the surface. I explored working in a large space at a large scale to bring out more of the spatial and affective properties of painting whilst also responding to the built environment. Constructed with ghost gum greys, silvers and subtly shifting hues, made use of the foyer's ambient light and shadows. As residents move through their private lobby, the light and shadows reflect and radiate throughout the space activating the surfaces of the painting. This project extended this relationship between the body, time and surface by responding to the immediacy and quality of the space and through painting directly onto the wall of the foyer at scale. Research Significance Shortlisted out of six artists, in 2015, I was awarded the inaugural Royal Como Art Prize which was judged by Monash University's Professor Callum Morton and Sonia Simpfendorfer, Creative Director at Nexus Designs. The final outcome for the commissioned work was completed in February 2018