Stilgherrian » sculpture

Review: Fiona Hall’s “Force Field”

Stilgherrian — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 22:05:41 +0000

I’ve always liked the witty, organic forms of Fiona Hall’s sculpture. A massive collection of her work, Fiona Hall: Force Field, currently fills two floors of Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art. It’s an almost overwhelming but immensely satisfying journey through her mind.

The photograph shows details from “Tender”, a collection of birds’ nests made from shredded US dollar bills. They’re incredibly realistic — especially in the exhibition environment where they’re collected into museum-style glass cases with each species’ nest labelled with its scientific name on the front of the case, the banknotes’ serial numbers listed on the back.

Other works include the finely-detailed sculptures of Paradisus Terrestris made from sardine cans, Scar Tissue, Understorey, Cell Culture and Leaf Litter. There’s also a smattering her photographs, and something about bees.

Cell Culture and many other works such as Dead in the Water are constructed from myriad tiny glass beads threaded on fine wire, shaped with loving attention to detail into precise organic forms. Photographs do not do them justice — you must see them in three dimensions, walk around them, revel in their reality. A video shot on a tropical field trip with botanists in search of blooming water lilies reveals Hall’s passion for getting it right.

Hall’s work explores the boundaries between the natural and the man-made with subtlety and humour. Works like Leaf Litter show how the global plantscape has been shaped by human economic “needs”. I’m still bubbling with the thoughts it triggered the morning after.

Fiona Hall: Force Field is at Sydney’s MCA until 1 June 2008. Free entry. Give yourself at least an hour for just this exhibition, let alone what else the venue offers.

[Photograph: Details from "Tender" 2003-2005; Image from Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery via UTS Gallery.]

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Metal Pole Critter

Stilgherrian — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:00:06 +0000

This happy little chap was found on a lamppost near ’Pong’s favourite tunnel under the railway in Newtown, Sydney. There are others in the vicinity, and I may seek them out for your enjoyment.

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John Howard is an alien!

Stilgherrian — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:18:42 +0000

This sculpture of an alien, looking remarkably like John Howard, is currently on display at M.A.D. on Enmore Road.

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Contemporary art for sardines

Stilgherrian — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 01:58:22 +0000

“Just how many people can you pack into one tiny art gallery,” I wondered as I squeezed through At The Vanishing Point’s winding displays to find a drink.

The launch of the inaugural Marrickville Contemporary Art Prize was an upbeat but slightly chaotic affair last night, with 61 works packed into a narrow gallery space and probably every contemporary artist in the village jammed into a narrow corridor trying to reach the dodgy chardonnay and too-few spring rolls being served in the back yard.

’Pong’s Red Sofa didn’t win anything, but it was interesting to note how many of the winners were video installations and ceramic and mixed media works rather than “straight” paintings, photographs or sculptures.

I also thought most of the higher-ranked works tended to pack more Big Concepts into one piece, trying to tell a lot of stories all at once, rather than the clear exposition of one thought. Perhaps that’s just my preference for visual minimalism.

The exhibition continues until 23 September at At The Vanishing Point, 565 King Street, Newtown and Don’t Look Experimental Art Gallery, 419 New Canterbury Road, Dulwich Hill. ’Pong’s Red Sofa is at the latter.

And the winners are…

Open Award

First Prize: Lucas Ihlein, MAP
Highly Commended: Michaela Gleave, Cloud Machine; Billy Gruner, Floor Structure (Box Fold); Tanya Richards, Her Mother Craved Rumpion; Somchai Charoen, Out of Service
Commended: Mark Wotherspoon, Smoker’s Please; Bronwyn Tuohy, Possession — White Trash Series; Chris Gallagher (title TBA); Amy Prcevich, You were so R.E.C.K, I was so L.E.S.S; Graham Chalcroft, Weight Watchers Series

Student Award

First Prize: Matthew Rochford, Dulwich Hill DayZZte PhayZze 2
Highly Commended: Jemima Aitschison, Suspended Animation
Commended: Cheyne McGill, Fluorescent Connection; Rohan Carter, Ten Years This Year

Non-English Speaking Background Award

First Prize: Shuhei Nishiyama, SHOT — Sabotage Syndrome
Highly Commended: Nicole Barakat, Coming Home Story; Somchai Charoen, Out of Service
Commended: Goran Tomic, “The Anatomy of the Possessed” (x-ray of the artist possessed by the spirit of Joseph Beuys); Pierre Cavalan, We are more similar than we are different

Director’s Choice

Acquisition Award: Lucas Ihlein, MAP.
Highly Commended: Gav Barbey, The blood flow’th…, Gustavo Böke, West; Louise Brissenden, Only Child; Nicole Barakat, Coming Home Story; Loris Quantock, 33 degrees South, 151 degrees East; Amanda Hills, [Recycled] carp.

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Trash sculptures

Stilgherrian — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 13:17:10 +0000

I’ve been very serious today so the time’s come for something a little more light-hearted — sculptures of garbage that, when looked at from exactly the right angle, form a silhouette of the artists.

Thanks to Signal vs Noise for the link.

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’Pong’s sculpture pics

Stilgherrian — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 11:45:35 +0000

’Pong took some amazing photos of Sydney’s Sculpture by the Sea last month. If you missed the exhibition, have a browse. I reckon they’re better than the official images.