Two renowned Indigenous artists - Karen Casey (Australia) and Natalia Toledo (Mexico) are currently collaborating in Melbourne on a new public art project entitled Alternative Worlds, which will be installed at the North Carlton Railway Station Neighbourhood House, in the City of Yarra.
Karen Casey is an established Australian artist, who works within a broad inter-disciplinary practice, which includes: traditional painting and printmaking, site-specific sculpture, large-scale public installations, as well as computer generated and hybrid art forms.
Although much of her work may be read as reflecting the rich diversity of forms and experiences associated with indigenous culture, it transgresses usual conventions and traditions. Her artworks reverberate with spirituality as well as contemporary science. Recent work reveals the conspicuous relationships between the organic world, its synthetic mediation and self-identity – an important aspect in Casey’s oeuvre, which broaches a difficult terrain, one already colonized and mediated.
The labyrinth, wave and ripple are recurring motifs that epitomize transformation, unlimited potential, expansive movement and the complex interwoven relationship between self and other. In spite of these over-riding themes, she seduces the viewer with sumptuous forms that cannot easily be situated as reflecting a natural occurrence or one constructed through technological means. In this sense she exposes that our perception of nature is a property of culture. The apparent contradiction between the organic world and its technological remediation is revealed in Casey’s work as poesies, an exposé of the connectivity between art and science, actual and virtual, light and dark, presence and absence, public and private, indigenous and non-indigenous cultures.
Casey’s strong sense of place and her ability to transform it by tapping into her own energy as well as that generated by space itself is revealed in the luminescent and sublime qualities of her work. This illumination is simultaneous recognition of the pursuit of knowledge as well as an appreciation of the hidden mysteries of life.
In October 2006 I interviewed Karen underneath the Plane Tree in the Courtyard at the University of Melbourne. Karen discussed memories of her childhood in Tasmania ~ she recalled a photograph of an aboriginal child hanging in her grandparent’s house and her fascination with this black child; her realization that she was a descendant of, what she was told, was an extinct race. We spoke of one of Karen's impressive early paintings Got the Bastard (1991) (Purchased by the National Gallery in 1995), which depicts a excessively large white man with a knotted handkerchief on his head, holding a rifle across his lap. From a feminist perspective I read this painting as depicting the demonic over-bearing masculine figure central to Australian colonization and extinction of many Aboriginals. Karen explained that for her it was far more than that...a transitional painting, a cathartic work that enabled an emergence of the feminine. At that time the floating ethereal figures and vessel forms started to appear in my work... and later more apparent references to landscape, but that painting needed to come out first. More importantly and relevant to her current work with another indigenous artist is the fact that Karen discussed her experience with native American culture. She said: I spent time in the South West and had some quite profound insights...I had an extraordinary encounter with the Hopi Indians...very shamanic stuff. For a number of years I explored aspects of various indigenous cultures, I’ve also had a long-standing interest in eastern mysticism and Buddhist philosophy - I look for relationships between these and contemporary western philosophical thought and scientific inquiry. (Casey, 18/11/2006)
See: http://www.karencasey.com.au/
Karen Casey is an established Australian artist, who works within a broad inter-disciplinary practice, which includes: traditional painting and printmaking, site-specific sculpture, large-scale public installations, as well as computer generated and hybrid art forms.
Although much of her work may be read as reflecting the rich diversity of forms and experiences associated with indigenous culture, it transgresses usual conventions and traditions. Her artworks reverberate with spirituality as well as contemporary science. Recent work reveals the conspicuous relationships between the organic world, its synthetic mediation and self-identity – an important aspect in Casey’s oeuvre, which broaches a difficult terrain, one already colonized and mediated.
The labyrinth, wave and ripple are recurring motifs that epitomize transformation, unlimited potential, expansive movement and the complex interwoven relationship between self and other. In spite of these over-riding themes, she seduces the viewer with sumptuous forms that cannot easily be situated as reflecting a natural occurrence or one constructed through technological means. In this sense she exposes that our perception of nature is a property of culture. The apparent contradiction between the organic world and its technological remediation is revealed in Casey’s work as poesies, an exposé of the connectivity between art and science, actual and virtual, light and dark, presence and absence, public and private, indigenous and non-indigenous cultures.
Casey’s strong sense of place and her ability to transform it by tapping into her own energy as well as that generated by space itself is revealed in the luminescent and sublime qualities of her work. This illumination is simultaneous recognition of the pursuit of knowledge as well as an appreciation of the hidden mysteries of life.
In October 2006 I interviewed Karen underneath the Plane Tree in the Courtyard at the University of Melbourne. Karen discussed memories of her childhood in Tasmania ~ she recalled a photograph of an aboriginal child hanging in her grandparent’s house and her fascination with this black child; her realization that she was a descendant of, what she was told, was an extinct race. We spoke of one of Karen's impressive early paintings Got the Bastard (1991) (Purchased by the National Gallery in 1995), which depicts a excessively large white man with a knotted handkerchief on his head, holding a rifle across his lap. From a feminist perspective I read this painting as depicting the demonic over-bearing masculine figure central to Australian colonization and extinction of many Aboriginals. Karen explained that for her it was far more than that...a transitional painting, a cathartic work that enabled an emergence of the feminine. At that time the floating ethereal figures and vessel forms started to appear in my work... and later more apparent references to landscape, but that painting needed to come out first. More importantly and relevant to her current work with another indigenous artist is the fact that Karen discussed her experience with native American culture. She said: I spent time in the South West and had some quite profound insights...I had an extraordinary encounter with the Hopi Indians...very shamanic stuff. For a number of years I explored aspects of various indigenous cultures, I’ve also had a long-standing interest in eastern mysticism and Buddhist philosophy - I look for relationships between these and contemporary western philosophical thought and scientific inquiry. (Casey, 18/11/2006)
See: http://www.karencasey.com.au/
You write about the luminescent quality of Casey’s work and that “ this illumination is simultaneous recognition of the pursuit of knowledge as well as an appreciation of the hidden mysteries of life.”
ReplyDeleteTo me this description is a valid one about your writing. I have read dozens of blogs that reveal hidden aspects of your life, the city and other artists. It is clear the objective is to pursue knowledge and have others share an appreciation of the visual, emotional journeys you take.
Thank you
Lauren
Sorry Lauren, I meant to respond to your comment and then got side-tracked by being sick. Yes, I think that the connection between myself and Karen is that we do share some similar concerns and perhaps that's what I was picking up on in her artwork.
ReplyDelete