Signs of Life
MOORE CONTEMPORARY, Sydney, Australia 30.08.2020-19.09.2020
Art works selected for SIGNS OF LIFE traverse still life and automated life, each offering touchstones for evidence of life energy and forces. Residue is a common feature, as a powerful signifier that induces memories, associations and empathy.
Tove Kjellmark is represented by selected photographs and a video, that exemplifies her interest in so-called 'technoanimalism'. Over time she has concentrated on explorations of 'another nature' or 'otherness' that emanates from a dialogue between humanity and technology. Her dissembling of mechanical and robotic toys lead to consideration of the vulnerability evoked when the fur is removed. The technical side of robotics doesn’t interest her significantly, rather the existential. It reveals something essential about our anthropocentric outlook on the world. In her newest works where she uses, or rather misuses, scanners and 3D-printers, she is able to reach a result with a combined human and mechanical touch.
Kossan, 2013/2018, c- type print, acrylic, aluminium 54 x 64.5 cm, Edition 4+Ap
Katter, 2013/2018, c- type print, acrylic, aluminium 54 x 64.5 cm, Edition 4+Ap
Gris, 2013/2018, c- type print, acrylic, aluminium 54 x 64.5 cm, Edition 4+Ap
Photographic techniques are applied distinctly by Kate McMillan and Dan McCabe in their memento works from sites and experiences.
McMillan conjures associations from the Kent coast in the UK and McCabe's imagery transpired from a residency in remote landscapes in Finland.
John Young's large figurative painting is less anchored in specificity, giving it an especially ethereal quality.
Young continues his double ground series within his multifarious practice. From a series entitled Bridge, Young’s enduring explorations of historical layering and transculturality is, in this work, additionally charged with the inclusion of a dream-like figure cloaked in an emergency blanket. Representation coalesces with a dissolved ground that is digitally mediated from works by Giuseppe Castiglioni, an Italian Jesuit Missionary to China in the 1600s. The figure suspended and surrounded with forms from nature is poetically resonant of trauma and safety, protection, security and vulnerability.
Participating artists: Tove Kjellmark, Dan McCabe, Kate McMillan and John Young