2010 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art

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About the Adelaide Biennial

Established in 1990 and staged every two years by the Art Gallery of South Australia, this major exhibition is the flagship visual arts event of the Adelaide Festival of Arts. It showcases up-to-the-minute works by established and emerging contemporary Australian artists.

The 2010 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, entitled Before and After Science, brings together a cross-section of works by twenty-two artists and artist groups, works which investigate or reflect various themes associated with thinking about art and science – the connections, the boundaries, the possibilities. Many of these works deal with the unknown, or the mysterious. For some artists in this exhibition, encountering, or pushing at the boundaries that might exist between the disciplines of art and science reveals new directions, and opens up new possibilities in creative endeavour. Other works look back to artistic and cultural traditions.

Biographical information about the artists, including exhibitions and prizes, can be found in the exhibition catalogue Before and After Science by curators Charlotte Day and Sarah Tutton (Art Gallery of South Australia 2010).

About the Curators

Charlotte Day is Associate Curator, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, and was curator of Victoria’s TarraWarra Biennial 2008. She was curator of Ricky Swallow’s This Time Another Year at the Venice Bienniale 2005 and Callum Morton’s Valhalla at the Venice Bienniale 2007.

Sarah Tutton is Melbourne Editor for Art & Australia and Pacific Editor for ArtAsiaPacific Almanac 2009. She was the Australian coordinator of Icons of the Desert: Early Aboriginal Paintings from Papunya at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Cornell University, New York, which toured the United States in 2009.

Teachers’ notes

This education resource has been prepared by Education Services to support the exhibition Before and After Science.

It is intended as a guide to assist teachers of secondary students in generating ideas and guiding learning before, during, and following a visit to the exhibition.

The resource can be adapted for different contexts and year levels. It has been designed to integrate with the South Australian Curriculum Standards and Accountability Framework, with particular focus on Learning areas.

It links most directly to:• Arts – Visual Arts: ‘Arts in context’ and ‘Arts analysis and response’• Society and Environment: ‘Societies and cultures’ and ‘Time, continuity and change’• Science: ‘Earth and space’

Pre-visit learning:

• Download the education resource and view this prior to visiting. www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/learning• Ask questions: What do students already know about contemporary artistic practice in Australia?

What do I want students to experience, appreciate, and learn as a result of this visit? Encourage research on exhibiting artists. Artists in the exhibition are:

Hany Armanious (NSW) Ben Armstrong (VIC) John Barbour (SA) Matthew Bradley (SA) Mikala Dwyer (NSW) Diena Georgetti (Qld)Simryn Gill (NSW) Simon Yates (NSW)Newell Harry (NSW)Nicholas Mangan (VIC)Silvana & Gabriella Mangano (VIC)

Martumili Artists: [Jakayu Biljabu, Yikartu Bumba, Nyanjilpayi (Nancy) Chapman, Mulyatingki Marney, Muntararr (Rosie) Williams, Mayiwalka (May) Chapman, Reena Rogers, Doreen Chapman, Donna Loxton, Beatrice Simpson, Ronelle Simpson, Linda James (WA)]James Morrison (NSW)Callum Morton (VIC)

Learning at the exhibition

As students view the exhibition, they are encouraged to think creatively, take nothing for granted, and use all senses! Works can be interpreted subjectively and on different levels. Please note that only one work in the exhibition is able to be touched: Simryn Gill’s 9 Volumes of the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi.

The following themes and concepts might provide the basis for student discussion:

• the blurring of boundaries between science and art

• how artists may work from, or with, particular religious, spiritual or mystical ‘beliefs’

• diverse ways of thinking / seeing / knowing as demonstrated by the featured artists

• contemporary art practice

• how advances in science and technology have created new possibilities for artists.

Students could also be encouraged to discuss the following comment from Claude Levi Strauss:

Art lies halfway between scientific knowledge and mythical or magical thought.

(The savage mind, 1966)

Post-visit learning

Students might be encouraged to respond to the following in discussion or writing:

• The traditional role of science has been to try to fathom the complexities of the natural world. Artists interpret and represent the features of this sometimes puzzling world. Discuss how this viewpoint might apply to one of the works in the exhibition.

• Consider a work from the exhibition which you feel demonstrates the idea that both art and science are about discovery, and are paths to knowledge and understanding.

• How do you think that the works of art included in this exhibition reflect society and social situations or interactions? (Perhaps consider the work of Callum Morton, Newell Harry, Mikala Dwyer.)

• Abstract art has been described as allowing the viewer imaginative room to move, whereas other styles of art are more literal, and suggest a clear message. Discuss this statement.

• Moving-image works of art are more appealing / interesting than still images such as photographs? Discuss this question in relation to your response to the works of Gabriella and Silvana Mangano, or Stuart Ringholt, or Justene Williams.

• Some things cannot be explained by science and rationale, the universe is too big, too infinite and we have to give some of our sense over to mysticism. (Sophia Mitchell 2008) Discuss this comment in relation to the works you have seen in this exhibition.

• Discuss the role of art galleries in showing contemporary works of art which may challenge our perception of what we understand ‘art’ to be.

• Which work of art did you enjoy / connect to the most, and why?

Doreen Reid Nakamarra (WA)Michelle Nikou (SA)David Noonan (VIC)Stuart Ringholt (VIC) Sandra Selig (QLD)Christian Thompson (VIC)Louise Weaver (VIC)Justene Williams (NSW)

Scheduled guided sessions

Guided sessions may be provided by the Education Manager and / or volunteer Education Guides. These introductory sessions are approximately forty-five minutes duration. Guided session students will be encouraged to connect the underlying themes and concepts of the exhibition with the works of art viewed.

Visiting the Gallery

• As storage space is limited it is advisable for students, if possible, to leave bags and personal items at school, or on the bus.

• Any items brought into the Gallery can be left in a small storage room. Access is via the Information Desk.• Food and drink cannot be consumed in the Gallery.• Photography is not permitted in the Gallery.• Pencils and clipboards are required if students are set written tasks at the time of viewing the exhibition.

Recommendations

Prior to the Gallery visit teachers / carers should brief students about:• appropriate behaviour, particularly walking carefully within the exhibition space, and looking without

touching. Please note that only one work in the exhibition can be touched: Simryn Gill’s 9 Volumes of The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi.

• listening carefully to instructions and information presented• remaining with their group, unless given instruction to move away for a specific activity.

Talking is an important part of learning, but students should remember to use quiet voices in the exhibition space.

Accessibility

Wheelchairs are available from the Cloaking Desk in the Atrium. Access to the Gallery’s main entrance is via ramps. People using wheelchairs can navigate the Gallery via lifts and ramps. If you seek further clarification about these procedures please phone Security on 8207 7023. If special assistance is required during a visit, please ask the nearest Security Officer. There is a toilet for visitors with special needs next to the Cloaking Desk.

Bookings and exhibition information

• Free admission• All group bookings: online: www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/learning tel: 8207 7033, fax 8207 7070 email: [email protected]

This education resource has been made possible through the partnership between the Art Gallery of South Australia (Arts SA) and Outreach Education (Department of Education and Children’s Services). Outreach Education is a team of DECS teachers based in major South Australian public organisations. The role of these teachers is to initiate, create and manage curriculum-based programs for the R-12 school sector using the expertise, collections and events at each unique site.

cover detail: James MorrisonWorm blood dripping, 2009–10papier mâché and ink, 198 x 82 cmCourtesy the artist and Darren Knight Gallery, Sydneyphoto: Simon Hewson

Adelaide-based artist Matthew Bradley creates sculptural forms for experiencing ideas and objects in new ways. Bradley’s photographs and

equipment are related to his longstanding interest in astrology. The moving images within The Aesthetics of Amateur Astro-Imaging reflect his keen interest in space exploration and travel, and were taken from his own backyard in Torrensville, Adelaide.

Bradley’s works are made by modifying pre-existing objects and machines. He remodels technology and uses scientific imagery to activate an engagement beyond our familiar world.

Bradley states:

I am using technology against itself and the modern world, combining

and using equipment in such a way that I escape the trap of its prescribed

logic. It’s like pushing aside a scale on the skin of the giant technological

monster and seeing the world as unfiltered and unmediated.

The car is a vehicle for ‘chasing’ images of the night sky, of places we don’t really know (the moon for example) but are interested in. The inside of the car is reconfigured as a sort of home theatre.

Bradley’s works often have an unsettling effect on viewers, ‘testing’ our realities and our sense of logic. Describe your first impressions on viewing The Aesthetics of Amateur Astro-Imaging.

• Explain the processes that Bradley has used to create this installation.

• What challenges might the artist have had in creating this work of art?

MATThEw BRADlEy

The artist, Mtthew Bradley with his workSkylab: Commodore mount, from The Aesthetics of Amateur Astro-Imaging, 2010 Hardware: VN Commodore shell, steel, zincalum, custom steel mounting arms and EQ5 base, Celestron EQ5 mount with dual axis motor drives, custom aluminium telescope mounting plate, William optics 110 mm apochromatic refractor telescope, Skywatcher 90 mm refractor, Precision 8 inch reflecting telescope, 60 mm refractor telescope, Phillips SPC900NC ‘ToYou’ web-cam, 2x Logitech quick-cam web-cams, generic web-cam, 2x custom machined and anodised aluminium web-cam to telescope adapters, Canon 450d DSLR camera, T-Ring adapter, 25 mm lens, 10 mm lens, Plossl 6.3 mm lens, GSO 3x Barlow lens, 2x Barlow lens, Baader UV/IR cut filter, focal reducer, custom plastic extender tube, small electrical components box, compass, repaired Motorola traxar gps, Acer Aspire One netbook, old desktop computer, Texas instruments TI-84+ calculator, Crompton mini fluorescent light, SanDisk 8 GB USB storage device, Bosch tool case, MTV DVD player, AWA DVD player, 2 Acer monitors, Power cables, RCA and VGA cables, power boardsSoftware: K3CCD tools, Macam, Registax 2, Registax 5, Photoshop, ImovieInstructables: Turn Texas instruments calculator into intervalometer, posted by ‘yonderknight’Hand knitted woolen balaclava after Mawson (with Jena Woodburn)Courtesy the artist and Greenaway Art Gallery, AdelaideThis project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory bodyPhoto: Saul Steed

JOhN BARBOUR

John Barbour is an Adelaide artist whose creations have taken many different forms. In his installations Barbour often focuses on connections or disconnections, and opposition or contrast,

as in this installation of lead, copper and beaded and printed / painted fabrics. He also uses (recycles) what might be described as ‘throwaway’ objects or materials.

Barbour has previously commented (Catalogue, Contemporary Visual Arts Projects SA 2006):

My art practice can be described as intimate yet estranged. Intimate in that the objects and images

I present require the closest attention to bring to light their inherent qualities and association.

Estranged in that they appear, paradoxically, as distanced and remote – as if seen from afar. This

push and pull of opposites: subjective and objective, private and public, near and far, speech

and silence, presence and absence, architecture and its erasure, carries over into my use of

materials and forms and is deeply characteristic of my practice.

In Sunrise . . . no plan B . . . I close my eyes contrast is immediately evident between the hard and soft surfaces – between the cold, firm lines of the metal-framed chair, the rolled sheets of metal, steel rods, metal words and letters nailed to the wall, and the draped, beaded, see-through garment and the long white voile wall-hanging. The artist has juxtaposed the pale, elegant and fragile, with things cold, hard, solid. This is a work in which we are encouraged to look closely, to consider differences in surfaces and textures, and to notice the appearance and detail of things (the barely-visible paintings/drawings on the wall hanging, and the cloth badge and text on the draped garment for example). And the use of space is intriguing: there are items on the floor, and also on, and resting against, the wall. Both floor and wall are utilised for display. These objects might appear to be props for a stage set – separate elements about to come together.

• Consider whether the items which make up this installation, apparently so different, in fact have links or connections.

• Can you see what Barbour means by ‘the push and pull of opposites’?

• What connection do you make between the title and the work of art?

Sunrise ... no plan B ... I close my eyes, 2010 wood, lead, copper, pigments, fabric Courtesy the artist and Yuill Crowley, Sydneyphoto: Saul Steed

Silvana and Gabriella Mangano are Melbourne-based artists who have collaborated for a number of years. In their video performances the two are often featured simply and

similarly dressed, performing repetitive actions and gestures through which they depict and explore their physical, emotional and psychological connections with each other.

This 3-channel digital video installation time lapse 1–3 is a series of ‘sketches’ set against the rugged landscape of the mountains around Can Serrat in Spain. In their outdoor ‘studio’ the artists’ slight figures contrast with the rocky, dry, unwelcoming landscape. Here their movements – climbing, swinging – are ‘accompanied’ by nature. While recording their movements they are also recording the impact of the elements: the wind (notice the skirt blown by a gentle breeze) and of gravity, space or distance, sunlight, and the movement of clouds.

During the editing process the video is slowed and images are rotated. This process serves to warp the perspective of viewers, and in disrupting the usual or familiar, to challenge or change our thinking about the way we perceive movement, and the way we ‘view’ things.

• Why has slow motion been used in this work as an artistic device? What impact does this have?

• Despite the large backdrop, there is also an intimacy suggested in the work. How do you think the artists achieve this?

• What is the impact of this work being presented in black and white? Would anything have been gained – or lost – in this work by filming in colour?

SIlvANA MANgANO, gABRIEllA MANgANO

The artists, Silvana and Gabriella Mangano with their worktime lapse 1–3, 2009three channel digital video Courtesy the artists and Anna Schwartz Gallery Melbourne and SydneyPhoto: Saul Steed

Sydney-based artist Simon Yates is concerned with the idea of harnessing human inventiveness and tapping into our sensitivity to the world around us. In his creations of robots, toys and lo-tech gadgets such as a

3D drawing machine and a 3D shadow making machine, he makes use of found objects, obsolete technology and cheap materials. For example, in one ongoing series, life-size robots made from tissue paper, balsa wood, tape and fishing rods are suspended by helium balloons and move freely through gallery space.

In his scientific work Sir Isaac Newton sought to understand and explain the unseen forces that shape our lives and our world. In Anti Gravity, Yates uses the world’s most famous scientific story, Newton’s falling apple, as a starting point for the creation of the work. Yates’s life-size robot, held upright by a cloud of floating apples, comes from a rearrangement of the story of Newton’s discovery. The essential elements of the story exist, but they have been turned upside down.

In this work we see Newton but he does not see us; he seems both alive and lifeless, intent upon a goal that is unclear, one we cannot interpret. We guess, perhaps, that he is on a search for greater knowledge and understanding. In this work Newton seems untroubled by his apples’ gravitational disobedience.

• Why is this work titled Anti-Gravity?

• Reflect on the role that chance played in Newton’s scientific discovery. Do you think that chance might sometimes be a factor in an artist’s creative work? Locate another work in this exhibition that suggests that the artist has been open to chance, or to the unknown.

• What other scientific discoveries or inventions was Newton responsible for? Yates provides a clue in his work.

SIMON yATES

The artist, Simon Yates with his workAnti Gravity (detail), 2010tissue paper, wood, fishing line, tape, string, electrical components, helium balloonsdimensions variableCourtesy the artist and Mori Gallery, SydneyPhoto: Saul Steed

Newell Harry is of South African-Mauritian heritage; he lives and works in Sydney. His artistic work reflects the histories of contact, colonisation and exploitation in the Pacific region. He explores

ideas connected with migration, colonial trade and politics, identity and dislocation.Harry is interested in traditional craft and construction work; materials and found objects; and playing

with word puns and slang. The underlying principles of much of his art involve the repetition of simple acts: tying, binding, squeezing, molding, and wrapping. He uses basic materials such as newspaper, garden pavers, rags, and doormats to make strange totemic forms that could have some ritualistic or ceremonial purpose.

In this work, Harry has taken a Papua New Guinean traditional house shield from the Green River Valley in the Western Sepik region, by an unknown maker about c.1970–74, and cast a 1:1 replica in a mixture of pure beeswax and synthetic petroleum-based wax. The shield, with its symbols, had earlier been mistaken for a tribal shield (the German Maltese Cross a possible influence from the German occupation of Papua New Guinea and the presence of missionaries) but is now regarded as of little anthropological value.

The neon sign makes two statements: AS VENEREAL THEISTS REST, is an anagram for THE NATIVES ARE RESTLESS. We can take as a ‘sign’ of disquiet and possibly unfinished business.

Harry’s ‘readymade’, a bike once owned and decorated by a friend in Vanuatu, is positioned opposite. Harry swapped his own high-tech mountain bike for his friend’s bike, thus continuing the long-standing bartering practices associated with Pacific Island culture.

• Why has Harry described the shield as ‘quarter-caste’? (Note the spelling of ‘caste’.)

• Consider how the artist has used objects and their cultural contexts (or objects outside their cultural contexts) to suggest layers of meaning.

• What does the term ‘readymade’ mean in terms of art?

• What did Harry’s friend in Vanuatu use (or do) to make his bike more functional and decorative?

NEwEll hARRy

Reverse Missionary (Geist)medium cast artefact acquired by the artist, purchased 1996 Green River Valley, Western Sepik, PNG (c.1970–4) maker unknown 1996–200925% pure beeswax 75% petroleum wax144 x 75 x 5 cm Courtesy the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, SydneyPhoto: Ivan Buljan

Doreen Reid Nakamarra was born near the Warburton Ranges in Western Australia. Her date of birth is given variously as 1948 and also as early-mid 1950s. She died in Adelaide in October 2009.

During her youth she led a nomadic life. She walked with members of her family to Haast’s Bluff in central Australia, and later lived in Papunya, Kintore and Kiwirrkura.

As an artist Doreen Reid Nakamarra began late. She started painting initially with her husband George Tjampu Tjapaltjarri, as an apprentice or assistant. From this formal introduction she moved to develop a technique which led women to depict their own stories. Before this time painting had been largely the province of indigenous men.

It was not until 1996 that Nakamarra began to paint seriously, and almost immediately she gained considerable attention. Her works are now recognised as major contributions to Australian indigenous art. They are striking and powerful expressions of her land. She is referred to sometimes as a Western Desert painter, and also as a Papunya artist.

Women’s Ceremonies at Marrapinti is one of the many works in which Doreen Reid Nakamarra has painted the travels and tracks of her ancestors, and the ancestral women’s songs, dances and ceremonies conducted as they traverse the Western Desert landscape. Like the work of many other indigenous artists, her work represents a map, an aerial view or perspective, which elaborates a particular site or region. But it is not merely a landscape painting: ‘We are painting our own stories. We are all painting ourselves . . .’ (Nakamarra, in interview, Sept. 2009)

Nakamarra depicts the tones and contours of the desert: the dry, rocky creek beds, the sand dunes with their windblown patterns like ripples, or waves. With her fine brushstrokes she creates a herringbone pattern. The effect is mesmerising: the canvas seems to move! The zig-zagging lines ripple, capturing the movement of the sand and the radiating heat. In her use of colour – the yellows, ochres, and oranges reminiscent of the desert landscape – the artist has kept to a culturally traditional palette.

• Why is this work exhibited on a floor plinth rather than displayed on a wall?

• Nakamarra’s works have been described as abstract (one critic has noted ‘a tendency to ever finer and more nuanced abstraction’), and also as minimalist. Would you use these terms to describe this painting? Why?

• Find out about the art of the Western Desert painters, and about the Papunya Tula artists.

DOREEN REID NAkAMARRA

Women’s Ceremonies at Marrapinti, 2009acrylic on linen, 183 x 244 cmCourtesy Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs

Painting Lake Dora

and it’s whiteness of Lake Dorathat strikes you;it’s the whiteness you notice.it’s the layers that stretch so far awayand you can sense you will never really know how far away that actually is.

Lake Dora, a short walk,no more than a minute or two,down the track from Punmu,stays silent and whiteall through the day and night,the red roads having given way to the soft soak groundand the salt risesin a smooth shimmer of crystal dust –and it’s the whiteness you notice,it’s the whiteness that strikes you.

white land, white earth, white sky,the stories told of land and water,the stories sung by the women across that salt,carried through the years,never forgotten,never broken,and the salt lake stays that heartland,you can feel it and you can feel you know it;but it’s only the mirage of a seayou think you can sail on,you can’t guess the depth,the charts are held in no museum,they’re not stuck up on any wall.

this is the story of the womengathering to paint the story of their place,this is the story of the land,this is the story of the sky,this is the story of the water.

and it’s the whiteness that strikes you –it can’t be any other way,any other way would be a lie,any other tone or palette would tell a story ofomission,a story of predictable colour,conventions expected,but not true –for it’s the whiteness of the lake that strikes you,it’s the whiteness of Lake Dorathat makes you squint your eyes.

MARTUMIlI ARTISTSJakayu Biljabu, yikartu Bumba, Nyanjilpayi (Nancy) Chapman, Mulyatingki Marney, Muntararr (Rosie) williams,

Mayiwalka (May) Chapman, Reena Rogers, Doreen, Chapman, Donna loxton, Beatrice Simpson, Ronelle Simpson,

linda James (wA)

In 2009 a group of twelve women, some as old as seventy, others in their twenties and thirties, some related as mothers and daughters,

or as sisters, collaborated in painting the vast saltwater lake Ngayarta Kujarra, or Lake Dora. Lake Dora is on the Canning Stock Route, a line of wells in Western Australia, once identified by Europeans as the only water source in a vast and unforgiving landscape.

The artists, living in Punmu in Western Australia (1300 kms north-east of Perth) decided to undertake this collaborative painting as a way of providing some financial support for their troubled community:

. . . now we are living in our country again: that’s what this

painting shows. It’s a painting of Punmu for Punmu. We want to

sell this painting and give something back to our community to

help it.

Given that twelve individuals were involved, this is a remarkably cohesive work. It was the first time that most of the women had been involved in collaborative painting. The first brush stroke was made by Rosie Williams. On the first day the women painted for ten hours, and over the next seven days were often working in extreme heat. When the painting was finished it was taken to Lake Dora and placed on the dried lake bed. Here the painting was admired by everyone in the community, and stories and dances were performed in celebration.

The painting can be viewed as a landscape – like a giant aerial map of the area where the women live – showing the waterholes, the living things, and the pathways of their ancestors. But it is an historical map, recording the women’s significant stories which are embedded in the land, the stories of nomadic life. The stories are not the stories of individuals, but rather collective stories, the Dreamings which are the key to understanding and belonging to the land:

This painting is a map from that time. All of these waterholes are

still there, with all of the songs and all of the dances. We are still

singing and dancing for this country.

The work is contemporary in its use of colour. The painting is dominated by the shimmering pearly white of the salt pan / lake, with pockets of bright blues, greens and pinks on the perimeter (almost like a border for the work) representing the waterholes, tracks, and vegetation in the area. The paint is applied thickly, or layered, in places, suggesting the uneven surface of the dry salt pan. The symbols used are feminine symbols: curves, ‘u’ shapes, and rounded forms.

• Find out about the use of symbols in indigenous art.

• How does reading the poem Painting Lake Dora enhance your understanding of the painting?

• Consider the differences in the use of colour and technique in Ngayarta Kujarra, and the colours and technique used by Doreen Reid Nakamarra in Women’s Ceremonies at Marrapinti.

• Can you imagine working with eleven of your peers on one canvas? What do you imagine would be the problems of collaborating on a work of art? Would there be any advantages? Locate other works in the exhibition which are collaborations.

Ngayarta Kujarra, 2009acrylic on linen, 299 x 500 cm Courtesy Martumili Artists, NewmanPhoto: Saul Steed

Working in both Malaysia and Sydney, Gill explores the changing meanings of forms and materials over time, and the patterns of development and exchange

across geographies and cultural contexts. Gill’s subjects are usually taken from the recent past, as she attempts to grasp hold of things one last time before they lose their value and relevance – old films, old technologies etc.

Gill is also interested in the relationship between people and their environment, often exploring definitions of ‘exotic’, ‘modern’ ‘progressive’ as apparent in the differences between the first and the developing worlds.

Gill’s work for this exhibition is a series of spheres on the floor, which we may look at, hold, roll, and play with. The spheres are made from tiny bits of paper torn from the pages of nine volumes of The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. Their modest size contrasts with Gandhi’s monumental one hundred volume work.

The colour of stones, the spheres look heavy but feel light. Notice the fine, lightweight paper underneath the grey-brown patina, and imagine the patient labour that went into the tearing and gluing. Tearing up books might seem a strange activity for an artist who reads widely, yet here the activity conveys a resistance not to words but to rigid ideas. Gill tries to get beyond the distraction and weight of words. Her reusing of the pages of The Collected Works creates something for us to hold and touch. Her work is a moving reminder of the spirit of Gandhi’s philosophies and teachings relating to the value of work, and cooperation between people.

• Why do you think Gill wants her work of art to be touched and passed between people? Describe your feeling of being able to interact with Gill’s work.

• Later, research the key philosophies and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.

SIMRyN gIll

9 Volumes of the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, 2008–09 paper, glueCourtesy the artist and Tracy Williams Ltd, New York

Callum Morton studied architecture and urban planning before becoming an artist. He is interested in modernism and popular culture, and the way in

which built forms frame our view of the world. His work explores our interaction and relationship with the built environment, and how we experience both private and public space.

Morton often creates large-scale architectural installations of existing or previously existing buildings, scaled-down architectural three-dimensional models, or two-dimensional digital models. He changes scale, juxtaposing exteriors with unexpected interiors, and may incorporate drama and humour into his work through the use of light and sound.

Morton’s Monument #26: Settlement is a hand-painted fibreglass structure. It is a replica of a temporary shelter, of the kind we might find in over-crowded cities or refugee camps around the world. Such shelters are often made from provisional materials: tarpaulin, rope, cardboard, tape. It is ‘invisible’ architecture occupied by the poor, nomadic or displaced.

• How does this work reflect significant issues facing our world in relation to globalisation and the displacement of populations?

• Research other works by Callum Morton which focus on social and political issues.

• What is the function of architecture? How can buildings shape and affect our view of the world?

CAllUM MORTON

Monument # 26: Settlement, 2010 wood, epoxy resin, synthetic polymer paintCourtesy the artist, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney and Anna Schwartz Gallery, MelbourneThank you to the dedicated South Australian benefactors who supported this work.photo: Saul Steed

James Morrison lives and works in Sydney. He is best known for his detailed works which combine legendary / mythical figures set against a backdrop of exotic flora and

fauna. His inspiration comes from a number of sources and cultural references: snapshots of places he has been, his various experiences, memories of his childhood in Papua New Guinea, newspaper stories, and pictures of animals and plants.

Morrison’s work can be described as whimsical, evoking images from fantasy novels and traditional children’s stories, often connecting the imaginary world with the natural world.

(What is the devil doing in this ‘natural’ environment?)Worm blood dripping is made from papier-mâché and intricate black pen markings. It is

a life-size three-dimensional display representing a mythical scene featuring a naked man, a tortoise-like creature (looks a bit prehistoric?) at his feet, and a fantastical hovering devil with extraordinary features. On a constructed landscape, a small island, stand two birds: a black swan from the southern hemisphere, and wader bird from the northern hemisphere. Near them is a small totem-like male figure, lying broken. Perhaps these things suggest the world as a whole, and changes that come with the passage of time?

• Describe the expression and posture of both the naked man and the devil. (Notice the devil’s pointed finger and the man’s fixed stare.)

• Morrison has played with old stories and ideas that were once believed. Create your own short story in which you connect the creatures, the man, and the devil.

JAMES MORRISON

Worm blood dripping, 2009–10 papier-mâché, ink Courtesy the artist and Darren Knight Gallery, Sydneyphoto: Saul Steed

Mikala Dwyer is a Sydney-based artist whose work has been described as an organic playground, with impossible structures and floating landscapes. Her sculptural installations are assembled from recycled household objects such as

pantihose, PVC pipes, cardboard, dirty ashtrays, bandaids, sequinned fabrics, plastic, and modelling clay. As an essentially abstract artist, Dwyer avoids making her installations too realistic:

I find abstraction has a peculiar pleasure in its openness; it’s a way of allowing the viewer more room to move. (2004)

Dwyer has commented previously:

I like looking at notions of time and space, the attempt to create a kind of parallel universe within the space and how the space

changes as you move things round within it. (2004)

She is also interested in alternative belief systems.Prior to creating The Additions and Subtractions Dwyer consulted a clairvoyant and asked her to use her psychic abilities

to deliver a preliminary set of images that would become the building blocks for the work. Dwyer then interpreted these images, making them into objects, mixing forms and materials firstly in the studio, and then again in situ in gallery spaces.

Consulting a clairvoyant was, for Dwyer, an experiment in seeing how little control she could have as an artist, a way to revitalise her creativity. This process led to Dwyer introducing new colours, materials and forms into her work.

The Additions and Subtractions shows an array of objects arranged in a circle. They form a superstitious or ritualistic architecture of sorts, like an astrological or numerological chart, Stonehenge, or the pyramids. Dwyer’s sculptural installations come together at the time they are installed, so there is an openness to improvisation, experimentation, to not knowing, to chance.

• What happens when you enter the space / circle?

• Comment on the title of the work.

The pieces that leave my studio and go on are things that I haven’t got too bored with yet. The gallery is always an extension

of the studio in that the work gets worked on again in that space (2009).

Discuss the idea that art may not be fixed, but that it can evolve and be re-created between sites.

• Consider the individual objects within the installation, and discuss possible connections between them. Why might the artist have chosen these particular objects?

MIkAlA DwyER

The Additions and Subtractions, 2010 mixed media Courtesy the artist, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, SydneyThis project has been assisted by the Australian Government, through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory bodyphoto: Saul Steed