Wellman Street at Artshouse
1998 ‘Werna Djooloor 2’
Title
Wellman Street at Artshouse
Author / Interviewer
Judith McGrath
Abstract / Article
Sure it's the hectic time of year but if you're hot shopping in the City or chilling out in Northbridge, it’s worth the mini detour to Arthouse Gallery to view this exhibition. Sculptures by Graham Hay, prints by Alexander Hayes and Diokno Pasilian, and mixed media works by Soffia Scarano fill the space with well-executed works of art that suggest creative exploration on everyone's part. The Headsets Series by Hay displays his continued development and dexterity with paper clay, a very versatile medium. These exhibits consist of a wheel motif composed of either coloured pencils, discarded documents (an alternative way of recycling wastepaper) or paper clay. Each carries its own statement within the circle, all have a tactile interest. I was intrigued by Renovate where neat little yellow bricks partially pave the inner surface of a wheel constructed of jagged slabs of paper clay. Open-ended questions are posed by this construction, for example; is our rough world to be refined from the inside out; are we intended to construct our own Yellow Brick Roads? Regeneration too inspires questions while offering a satisfying visual experience from all points of view. Etchings by Pasilian also provoke questions, about colonialism and its effects. His works display a plethora of symbols, from serpents to basketball courts, sharing the surface with a disembodied friar's robe. The prints play with shapes, lines, and values to offer an interesting field for the play of ideas. The mixed-media prints by Hayes are the most engaging with their tactile surfaces and subtle suggestions. The series Werna Djooloor involves six horizontally aligned concave rectangles that seem to glisten or crackle as marble dust, photocopy toner, shellac, etc. react with each other. The colours are dark and warm, the textures intrigue, the total effect holds the viewer's attention with mysterious yet inviting suggestions of places for ritual, ancient or modern. Exhibits by Scarano are battling to hold their own in this group. Perth Series involves four large black and white mixed media works that present different ways to see and situate on paper, the landscape. The exhibit is well-conceived and constructed but set against the white wall, it makes little impact on the viewer. Her smaller works do a better job as they invite us to come in close which creates a certain amount of intimacy. This is a fine exhibition and I look forward to more from all the participants.
Keywords
art, exhibition, review, Perth, Australia
Publisher
ArtSeenInWA
Publication Date
December 1998
Week
N/A
Page
N/A
Citation
McGrath, J., 1998. Wellman Street at Arthouse. Western Review. ArtSeenInWA. Available at https://web.archive.org/web/20020618221744/http://www.artseeninwa.com/wellmanst.html.
Links
https://web.archive.org/web/20020618221744/http://www.artseeninwa.com/wellmanst.html.
