I may have alluded to a crisis of painting last week....My large canvas' were not wanting to co operate when working on them last Wednesday, and I went home a little burnt out and dejected by the way things were going, and by my impending deadlines for completion!!!
In a word, I was stressed!
To alleviate my mood and save my paintings from more wrath with the brush, I decided to take myself on a little excursion; to buy art supplies and to look at some truly great art!
So off I trotted to Parkers in the Rocks for some paint, and then the plan was to check out the painting exhibition, Wilderness : Balnaves Contemporary Painting, that was in its last few days at the Art Gallery Of NSW. On the way I thought id cut through the Botanical gardens, and low and behold I ran into the Botanical Gardens section of the Biennale! You cannot swing a cat in this city without running into some art!!!
First up was Fiona Hall with her installation, The Barbarians at the Gate 2010, which consists of a grouping of beehives painted in camouflage patterns to symbolise the different military colours of countries.
The beehives allude to the shipping of foreign objects and trafficking of peoples, materials, flora and fauna in colonial times, which forever changed the ecological makeup of each country and continent in the name of 'nation building'.
On top of each beehive Fiona has placed the model of a familiar building that is specific to each country. They act as 'stylised roofs' for the hives, lending an element of humour to a rather serious subject. Adding to this child like sense of play, Fiona has tied plastic figurines of military para troupers to the branches of the surrounding trees! I tried to shot them for you but they were too camouflaged!
The surrounding trees added a lovely element to the piece....
And each coloured hive had a unique sense of identity that made you want to wander around check out each piece! I loved the tin can on top of the highest hive that you can see in the background.... Reminded me of some of Fiona's earlier work that uses sardine cans and a hell of alot of detailed sculpting!
The second work in the gardens is inside this 'transparent garden shed', owned by Janet Lawrence! The work is called WAITING - A medicinal Garden for Ailing Plants 2010, and it is a piece about threatened plant species and environments for the sake of medicine. Inside the glasshouse Janet has created a virtual 'sickbay' for various fragile plant forms, using glass, mirrors, stainless steel, tubes, jars, hosing + netting. And boy is it effective...
I immediately thought of the mirrored hall in Versailles, as everything was projected, mirrored and filled with white light! I was so fascinated with the effect I think took 40-50 shots! These are a sample...
Amazing or what?!
This was in the centre of the piece....
I was in love with all the pink, and transparent textures....
Loved the use of all the petris dishes and medical jars....
It truly felt like a science experiment.... sad and yet poetically beautiful....
Loved all the natural colours of the leaves and plant forms.... They added the colour, texture and context, especially with the Botanical gardens just outside the netted wall....
The branch wrapped in white gauze is such a sad image....
Amazing or what?!
This was in the centre of the piece....
I was in love with all the pink, and transparent textures....
Loved the use of all the petris dishes and medical jars....
It truly felt like a science experiment.... sad and yet poetically beautiful....
Loved all the natural colours of the leaves and plant forms.... They added the colour, texture and context, especially with the Botanical gardens just outside the netted wall....
The branch wrapped in white gauze is such a sad image....
I really felt the emotion of the piece...
A sea of glass....
A sea of glass....
Beautiful!
Loved all the mirrored reflections... I walked around the piece two or three times to look at new perspectives that I did not see the first time! There were too many aspects to take in!
Loved all the mirrored reflections... I walked around the piece two or three times to look at new perspectives that I did not see the first time! There were too many aspects to take in!An amazing work...
The final piece in the Gardens is in the Main Pond and it is by Choi Jeong Hwa. It is a massive red lotus flower that sits on the surface of the water and periodically inflates with air, to open and close...This image is of the flower in the closed or flat position...
And this is when it is fully inflated!
The final piece in the Gardens is in the Main Pond and it is by Choi Jeong Hwa. It is a massive red lotus flower that sits on the surface of the water and periodically inflates with air, to open and close...This image is of the flower in the closed or flat position...
And this is when it is fully inflated! It sits so beautifully in the greenery of the Garden that I decided to sit, have some lunch, and watch it slowly animate a few times! I also watched peoples reactions to the piece which can be the best part of the Biennale, observing others as they take in the spectacle that is contemporary art!
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