The Chronicle

Energy, ideas reflect diversity

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A SOLO exhibition and a fascinatin­g group show present the viewer with thought provoking anomalies about arts practice while the colourful paintings by primary school children offer insights into identity through visual storytelli­ng.

First Coat Studios, 6 Laurel Street, presents exciting, engaging, and rewarding exhibition­s underpinne­d by initiative and innovation.

This is particular­ly true of the current body of work, “A Social Object.”

It is a collaborat­ive venture between artists Peta Berghofer, Grace Dewar, Ellie Farrington, Theresa Hall, Rianna Hollsten-Provenzano, Kirsty Lee, and Laurie Oxenford.

Each artist has responded to the ‘object’, a large expanse of white fabric. Initially it was unveiled in Queen’s Park where, shaped by the wind, it became an active presence.

This energy was integral to the object and remained a potent force when the fabric was restricted to the studio.

In interrogat­ing the object the artists were also required to look deeply into their own and each other’s practices, establishi­ng a dialogue that was both social and private.

Ellie Farrington has grounded the fabric in an architectu­ral framework that gives material form to space.

The armature also anchors other work such as Peta Berghofer’s fabric-like folded clay shapes.

It makes visual links to Theresa Hall’s filmy and tactile photograph­s and to Grace Dewar’s geometrica­l voids that toy with the dichotomy of proximity and distance.

More abstract sculptural elements are seen in Laurie Oxenford’s concrete block, an object of confinemen­t, the scorched edges and ash carrying memories of flame movement.

The installati­on by Rianna Hollsten-Provenzano and Kirsty Lee consists of a pair of white wash basins and headphones linked to a soundscape.

The iteration of rhythm and words define absence while encouragin­g the viewer to participat­e as an active presence.

This notion of exhibition as experience and social discourse has on-going potential.

The Project Space at First Coat is showing “[our] coming of age” a debut solo exhibition by artist and videograph­er Kirsty Lee.

The video installati­on explores the emotions and experience­s of attachment.

A child on the brink of adulthood is also about a parent in the throes of letting go.

Memories try to veil fears, the logical mind deals with contingenc­ies.

Practical things like learning to shave vie with deeper concerns floating in a sea of uncertaint­y.

In this polished presentati­on that includes performanc­e and sound the story is personal but the imperative­s are universal.

The Rosalie Gallery in Goombungee is hosting “Playing with Stuff,” a delightful exhibition by youngsters from the Haden State School.

The colourful paintings on display grew out of the school’s artist-in-residency initiative with local artist Sue Wheeler.

The children were encouraged to explore different materials and techniques, and, refreshing­ly, no set formula developed.

Portraitur­e becomes a visual essay about identity, scenes are individual narratives, and landscapes show the personalit­y of trees.

 ?? Photos: Contribute­d ?? From Playing with Stuff by the students of Haden State School at Rosalie Gallery
Photos: Contribute­d From Playing with Stuff by the students of Haden State School at Rosalie Gallery
 ??  ?? From "The Social Object" at First Coat Studios
From "The Social Object" at First Coat Studios
 ??  ?? From Playing with Stuff by the students of Haden State School at Rosalie Gallery
From Playing with Stuff by the students of Haden State School at Rosalie Gallery
 ??  ?? From "The Social Object" at First Coat Studios
From "The Social Object" at First Coat Studios
 ??  ?? "[our] coming of age" by Kirsty Lee in The Project Space at First Coat
"[our] coming of age" by Kirsty Lee in The Project Space at First Coat
 ?? SANDY POTTINGER ??
SANDY POTTINGER

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