Art Monthly April 2008 Number 208

VICTORIA

Life in the face of death

Reveries: Photography and Mortality is a National Portrait Gallery touring exhibition not to be taken lightly – traversing the complexities of the intensely private and public representations of death. Confronting liberal observations of Carol Jerrems documenting her deteriorating body just months before her death, and the postmortem photographs of Anne Noble’s father contrast the poetic and sometimes meditative metaphors of Michael Riley, where objects are displaced from their origin and permanently suspended in space. Also significant are the ‘last’ photographs of Olive Cotton, Max Dupain and David Moore. (See John Thompson’s review in AMA # 205.) On display at Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery until 18 May. EJ

Tailor made

Craft Victoria’s latest exhibition, How You Make It, explores contemporary artisanal fashion design from some of Australia’s leading practitioners, including Simon Cooper, Paula Dunlop, Ess.Laboratory, FORMALLYKNOWNAS, Anthea van Kopplen, MATERIALBYPRODUCT, Project, and S!X. Curated by Kate Rhodes, How You Make It examines the ideas behind how and why objects are made – from deconstruction, traditional tailoring and sustainable design to couture, ornamentation, gender construction and modern technology. The show runs until 12 April at Craft Victoria (still without a new director as AMA goes to press), then travels to Object Gallery in Sydney and regional galleries in Victoria throughout 2008 and 2009, courtesy NETS Victoria. MH

Great ape

Lisa Roet continues her investigation of the complex relationship between humans and primates in Aping, on show at Karen Woodbury Gallery from 9 April to 3 May. Roet’s large-scale cast bronze sculptures, photography and charcoal drawings examine language, communication, science and art while challenging theories of evolution and creationism. After its Melbourne presentation, Aping will travel to The Depot Gallery in Sydney in mid-May. MH

Defining freedom

Notions of creative, political, religious and social freedom will be examined in The Independence Project: Part 2, a Malaysia-Australia collaboration between Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces and Galeri Petronas in Kuala Lumpur. The project’s first installment was presented at Galeri Petronas earlier this year, which showcased 16 Australian and Malaysian artists. Part 2 will be on display at Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces from 18 April to 17 May, and will feature video, painting, photography and performance works by Malaysian artists Sharon Chin, Roslisham Ismail, Vincent Leong, Liew Kung Yu, Ahmad Fuad Osman, Shooshie Sulaiman, Wong Hoy Cheong, Yap Sau Bin and Yee I-Lann. Sulaiman will also be artist-in-residence at Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces during this period. Related forums and artist talks are planned. See www.gertrude.org.au MH

Foreboding landscapes

Drawn together by Tasmania’s ‘dark’ west coast and authors such as Murakami and Borges, three Melbourne-based artists explore the intensity of isolation in Cabin Fever. The exhibition features works by Lauren Cross, Lewis Gallagher and Andre Liew who have backgrounds in drawing, painting, sculpture and collage. Testing the psychological limits of another kind is Kellie Wells’s Exigence, where female protagonists undergo a variety of endurance tests, while Mia Salsjo’s BlOwHolEs (OriFice suite) presents its own visceral challenge. All exhibitions at West Space from 25 April to 17 May. EJ

Face to face

Photographic portraits of well-known Australian visual, literary and performing artists are featured in the Monash Gallery of Art (MGA) exhibition, In a different light: artists portrayed, which runs until 18 May. Highlights include Sonia Payes’s 2006 portrait of John Wolseley up a tree, Christopher Köller’s 2008 portrait of Brendan Lee sporting a key necklace, and other sitters including Rick Amor, Richard Bell, Max Dupain, Tracey Moffatt, Susan Norrie and Joe Orton. The MGA will host a free public program in conjunction with this exhibition on 18 April, 3 - 5pm. Guest speakers include artists Brook Andrew, Rod McNicol and Sonya Payes along with MGA director Jason Smith and National Portrait Gallery curator Christopher Chapman. Bookings essential on 03 9562 1569. MH

Transit lounge

After a number of years as curator at Perth Institute for Contemporary Arts (PICA), Hannah Mathews returns to Melbourne as associate curator with the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), and will simultaneously manage a number of freelance curatorial projects for Melbourne, Sydney and Berlin …
Julie Adams has been appointed acting director of Shepparton Art Gallery while Kirsten Paisley is on maternity leave. Adams is the head of the Gippsland Centre for Art and Design at Monash University and has also managed the Switchback Gallery for over 10 years …
Owen Leong has recently filled the temporary vacancy of Exhibition and Touring Services Manager at Museums Australia (Victoria), moving from Sydney where he worked with the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) …
Helen Kaptein completed her contract with the Public Galleries Association of Victoria (PGAV) where she managed the Get into Art! open day – one of the state’s most successful audience development initiatives. Kaptein recently joined the Australian Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) as manager of cultural programs. GC

NETSworks This issue is the first time Georgia Cribb and Emily Jones have written for the Artnotes Victoria column. Cribb is director of National Exhibitions Touring Support (NETS) Victoria, the state’s peak body for visual arts touring. Jones is a part-time program manager at NETS Victoria while Melissa Hart is communications manager. NETS Victoria compiles this column as part of an in-kind arrangement with Art Monthly Australia. Please send your news and high-resolution images to: artnotes@netsvictoria.org MH

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