18th Tamworth Fibre Textile Biennial

15 November 2008 - 18 January 2009

Tamworth Regional Gallery
466 Peel Street
Tamworth NSW 2340

Two pieces from Elisa's The Strange Quiet of Things Misplaced will be exhibited as part of the Biennial exhibition: Momentum.

Curated by Valerie Kirk (Head of the ANU School of Art Textiles Workshop), this is a major touring show that, following the initial exhibition at the Tamworth Regional Art Gallery, travels for two years throughout regional eastern Australia.

It will 'present the vibrancy of contemporary Australian textiles, exploring the forces that drive our most innovative and accomplished practitioners. Momentum identifies the artists on the move, embracing the future with works that surprise and inspire... This exhibition will provide audiences with a focus on the finest and most exploratory aspects of contemporary fibre textile practice.'

The Strange Quiet of Things Misplaced was first exhibited at Breadbox Gallery in Perth, Western Australia from April 18-May 04, 2008.

'Memory is a mystery. We imagine it as being some sort of cupboard where things are stored and pulled out when needed. But sometimes things are misplaced and it's only then, when our memory has failed us that we brood over its nature,' she says.

The patterns she creates are intensely intricate, geometrical and repetitive, hinting at our perception of memories as a tidy, reassuring archive. These are then disrupted to illustrate the uncertainty and inaccuracy of our recollections. They dissolve, disappear and re-appear altered.

These challenging and intimate artworks are the culmination of over two year's work. Elisa will also be participating in the artist talks on Saturday, November 15.

Behind the scenes...

Saw these on The Inquisitor... I really like the idea that the Leader of the Free World is so - relatively speaking that is - accessible.



Credit: David Katz/Obama for America

The back of it all....

Much as there was euphoria yesterday in the beginning of something new... there was also the realisation that the bad man will shortly be gone...

On reflection, I remembered an essay I wrote in 2002 that whilst not prophetic still seems very apt as a 'summarisation' of what the world has endured.

Enjoy... if that's the right word.

Failure is not an option...

A fuzzy image of a sharp idea is much more powerful than a sharp image of a fuzzy idea.
Should really attribute that as a variation thereof was cited by Vincent Versace.

I was discussing with someone - who shall remain nameless for a variety of reasons - the idea and dangers of changing practice to fit the 'creative' landscape we have to engage with.

I, as many others, have suffered from this feeling that our work 'has' to look or discuss or 'be' this or that to fit some mould that is implied. It is not often defined by the establishment but manifestos do occassionally appear.

The two experiments I've made in this vein have left me - and importantly 'others' - cold. Whilst I found my Frankfurt rejection very hard to deal with, one of the key aspects thereof was exactly this coldness to the work. I wouldn't say the work thereafter was a reaction to that experience but rather a returning to original intent.

Conscientious (Jörg Colberg) has started a google group which, amongst other things - has been discussing style vs substance in photojournalism.

Here some snippets of my 'contributions' in regards to the concept whether 'classical' photojournalism is dated or not:

Personally, I find it gets interesting where the edges are blurred. Fig (from Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin: see here) was recently shown in Perth, Australia. The mental patient image [cited in the original post] is part of a greater series which was also shown here in 2006... highly recommended if you haven't seen it.

I was quite familiar with their work (via Colors, esp the Rwanda issue) and found the 'step back' and the importance of 'captions' to be poignant. In a classical sense it's not photojournalism but it's strength is nonetheless felt. I find the idea - and oft heard complaint - that it's too much work to view more indicative of audience apathy than the quality of the work itself.

Where it gets VERY blurry though is someone like Antoine D'Agata who often involves himself in quite controversial work...

I suppose when we talk about classic we could say that which 'attempts' to be truthful, to propagate or to inform versus the surrendering of the artist/photographer to their selective vision.

Given that objective vision or even objective history is a utopian ideal that can be corrupted on so many levels, isn't it instead advantageous to encourage the viewer to see through fresh eyes? In an image-saturated world, perhaps it's a better strategy to effect change than a sensationalist - although often numbing - bloody corpse.

As mentioned by others, it becomes problematic when the vision overwhelms the cause. But that said, it is equally dangerous to apply standards of sharpness, depth of field, evenness of tone and non-selective vision to photojournalism as the cause is then overwhelmed by the coldness of vision.

Jörg: What if certain photographic techniques in themselves have become a cliche? I think the main reason why "classical" b/w photojournalism doesn't work any longer is because the imagery it produces is so incredibly cliched. It's not necessarily the context, but the way it's shot: Crooked, partly blurry, noise... It's almost like you can tell that someone is trying to make things look "real" by trying to avoid something that looks like he deliberately composed the shot (while the "real" shot of course is as composed...).

I do tend to agree about the idea of cliche... and I'm equally frustrated by it.

But... when 'style' is done well and 'honestly' then it can be very effective! The case in point might be someone like Paola Pellegrin or Jodi Bieber.

Jodi's work (Las Canas) moved me to tears and made all the other photojournalism I viewed that day (and many days after) seem cold and inert.

Just as style doesn't necessarily equal substance, substance also doesn't necessarily equal objectivity... what a quagmire!

It all really does come back to intent... what is the best tool(s) to accomplish the goal of the project?

Balanced against that is the photographer's adherance (or not) to industrial standards - ie. avoid the cliche or 'play' along. Maybe generic editors won't touch your work unless you have one leg shorter than the other?

There is a similar problem in the fine arts... if you'll excuse the rant. There seems to be a template that can be applied across particular genres that is extremely frustrating. It might sound harsh but I sometimes feel you could describe the aesthetic standard that 'must' be applied (including pout, background colour, hair style, etc) and the photographer just has to find the appropriate 'freak'*

Are Fine Art photographers (FAPS) becoming casting agents? There is case upon case of photographers who have built entire careers on exploiting the freakish.

* Similar to classical -- can't think of a more appropriate word.

Read more...

Hope, Change and Eunuch Polar Bears...

It seems like this has been going on FOREVER...

We both have a bad feeling that, no matter what, something 'might' hit the fan in America. Some of the stuff we've read, seen or heard around the traps is quite disturbing. Almost everything Palin manages to vocalize is tainted with some agenda and I also read in the news today that gun sales are up in the US.

Admittedly there is the argument that the Democrats are harder on gun control so people are getting in before it's too late.

Squashed grapes...

Someone tipped me off that an article was in The West about Martin Heine so I bit the bullet, went out and bought one.

What a tragic affair - not the article or Martin's work - much more the newspaper. Multitudes of ads emotionally loaded with 'times tough?', 'bank won't touch you?'-type stuff.

This one I found especially off...



Make's you wonder how the creative meeting went... 'People surely won't click that we are encouraging people with potential emotional issues to buy alcohol and lots of it cheaper?'. All a bit like having a 4WD or Beer commercial during a 'reality' show about car accidents.

... it requires a response.

Craft Arts International #74

Elisa's work is in the newest edition of Craft Arts International.

Rewrite...

I've been mucking around a bit more with the text I wrote for Elisa.

Excerpt: [Elisa] surrenders to the distortions in her memory and rather than attempt to resolve that which is 'missing' academically, she instead explores the gaps themselves. The greyness of her recollections becomes a critical tool in her broader practice. read more...

I've focussed on the idea of the Authentic in creative practice with a short diversion to Musicology and Method Acting.



I personally found Mike Leigh's Naked particularly enlightening when I first saw it at a mini-festival. It hit me at exactly the right moment in life and - in hindsight - informed much of what I now 'am' -- if you'll excuse the pun.

Codes and other stuff around town...

Somehow I missed this... I knew about the book launch but didn't think of checking RTR for an interview.

David Bromfield and Jánis Nedéla were both interviewed back in August. It is albeit very brief but refreshing nonetheless.

David wrote some text for us for both drei and The Strange Quiet of Things Misplaced.

We did a bit of a runaround last weekend and saw the fascinating Martin Heine show at Gallery East as well as the equally interesting Valamanesh show at Turners.

We're going to an artist talk on Sunday with Destiny Deacon (2pm at AGWA) and will tour Silver@PICA as well. I first encountered Destiny's work 14 years ago (!) whilst doing some work experience at Artspace in Auckland. Her work, as then, strikes a chord.