Nolan and Marbug or, my afternoon with Casey & Smith

Don't worry folks I've contacted Lauren about the fact that the links on her valuable recent post doesn't work and as much as I've tried to set up the correct ones my efforts have been thwarted. It appears that technical difficulties abound, we've had a few problems with my installation at Melbourne Uni, but I've been assured that all will be well.

Had a lovely meeting yesterday with Karen Casey (artist/Global Mind Project, whose work has been on Leonardo's Electronic Almanac listed on this blog of late) and her partner Damian Smith, who curated the Sidney Nolan Drought Photographs, now showing at the Australian Galleries in Smith Street. Focusing on both the macabre spectre of the many animal carcasses strewn across the landscape and on the singular dwellings announcing a tenuous human presence, Nolan created numerous iconic images (Damian Smith, 2011). The dried, decaying body of a dead horse hanging from a tree stripped bare of most of its leaves is a most engaging image on the front cover of the catalogue. I've promised to meet up with Damian to see the full exhibition of 62 photographs taken by Nolan in Northern Queensland in 1952. The exhibition runs until 27 March, 2011. 

Although Karen and Damian were unable to view my exhibition due to technical difficulties we did manage to see Model Pictures an exhibition at The Ian Potter Museum of Art and were impressed by the numerous small paintings executed by Amanda Marbug, who builds floppy plasticine figures, photographs them and then uses the scene as a basis for watery  paintings with a nicely sinister feel. See this link for more information on the absolutely exquisite work of this young painter.

OK, not sure what I'm doing today, but so far I've settled on a title for my next exhibition, which will be installed on the 'gallery wall' of the Graduate Centre print-room at the University of Melbourne in early April. It will be called AUTOPTIC SOMA (seen with one's own eyes/witnessed/evident ~ I like the word which is etymologically associated with autopsy ~ examination). Yesterday I met with Beornn, the curator and I've worked out which photographs to use and their basic configuration in the space. The poor people in Libya are still fighting to oust Gaddafi I wish them luck!