30th May - 2nd July 2004

“Pieces of Eight”

Paintings, Prints & sculpture works by Eight Artists:

Drew Cole:

My sculptures are made from wood, stone and bronze. I chose to work in these traditional materials not so much for their inherent beauty, but more so for the challenges they present to a sculptor, challenges that I found absent in the construction of an installation or found object piece.

Each of the materials evokes in the viewer some memory of its past usage throughout the known history of art, so a mindless arrangement might not be redeemed by conceptual masking as easily as perhaps a line of bricks on the ground. While I derive great pleasure from the bricks, I gain more satisfaction from bringing an old material into a contemporary setting.

Alex Day:

My sculptures relate to emotional and environmental experiences I have encountered during my life of which I keep extensive notes and photographic journals.

The sculptures display a lyrical and playful content which can disguise somewhat sinister and tormented undertones. The playfulness and bright colours are for the most part an indication of an innocence which I hope never to lose.

Each sculpture is a personal response to emotion and experience through colour and steel.  

Chris Duffy:

My ‘statement’ is a quotation, (because I couldn’t say it more eloquently), it is from Volker Karmen: "Eroticism In Contemporary Art":

“The vital impulse in all great art can always be traced to the sensual. A sensual impulse drives the artist to work, urging him to achieve his best; his reward is originality. And yet the creative process is an intellectual one, even if the artist is unable to perceive this in the fervour of creation: what he portrays changes as he attempts to define it, and the change seems almost to be caused by the intervention of his intellect. Artistic creation gives concrete objective form to the primary sensual impulse released by the artist's creative urge”

Lyn Ferguson:

I am primarily interested in painting seascapes and landscapes.

Although I love living in the city, my mind is soon absorbed with the possibility of paintings whenever I travel.

Perhaps because I am long sighted and we are mostly on the move I tend to concentrate on distant horizons and constantly unfolding scenery. I am fascinated by ‘the bare bones’ of landscapes, their creases and folds, and the contours of hills and watercourses. Roads draw my eye into the distance and trees become dark punctuation marks against the skyline or hillside.

Dee Gill:

The drawings grew out of reflections on an archive of photographs taken by my grandfather between 1915 and 1927, while he was a missionary in the Torres Strait . My father was born there and spent his early childhood there until his life suddenly changed when he was sent south to boarding school at the age of seven, seeing his parents only every three to four years. He never returned, preferring to think of that time and place as ' Paradise '.

These images are an attempt to try and unpack the influence these elements had on the remote and melancholic man I knew.

Anton Hasell:

Like you, I am trying to intuit the substance (it’s not illegal yet, is it?) of the matter of existence through the usual sensory receptors that can be brought to bear. Free, as I am, to make sense of life as I best as I can, you are welcome to rummage through my collection of evidences here presented. Of course you may concur, dispute and smile wryly at the more obvious speculations I have made. Beware, though, fellow navigators! The maps are provisional, and, anyway, track the wilderness for me alone.

Still, I am as keen as you (exactly) to share camps where our trails cross and to regale one another with those insights and confusions that most intrigue us.

Eileen Venables:

“THE SPIRIT IN THE LAND”: I spent eight years living in the Kimberley region of WA with my husband and rapidly growing family (8 kids). Over this time I came to know the country so well, especially its people and its spirituality that it became an essential part of me. I have returned there many times since and always feel like I have come home.

These links consistently seem to find expression in my paintings and drawings, whether it be the grandeur of the rugged, barren ranges or a few small rocks in a quiet stream.

The works in this exhibition combine my attachment to the outback with that of my home environment in the Yarra Valley . The use of charcoal, ink, collage and mixed media bring an immediacy to the work and appeals to my inclination to experiment with various materials.

Margot Wiburd:

Mind space’ - or a sense of peace in a competitive, techno-terrorist world - becomes increasingly difficult to find. It is not surprising that a reported 23% of our population is opting for a sea change, valuing peace above the accumulation of wealth.

As a response to this phenomenon, I have for some time been exploring a theme of ‘maximum mental space with minimum physical space’.