Where birds sing

An exhibition of work by Splinter Contemporary Artists
at Black Anther Gallery
42 Anslow Street, Woodend
Thurs 27th Nov—Sun 21st Dec 2014
Officially opened 6th December 2014

 

 

We celebrate the beauty of all the habitats where birds sing – forest, grassland, garden, wetland, beach. Artists find common links between themselves and these remarkable creatures, birds. Using a range of materials and techniques, we explore their uniqueness, power, beauty and resilience.

In a world which can depress us with its sadness or wound us with its cruelty, we can yet express joie de vivre. And we are reminded to treasure what we have, our environments, our families, our friends, ourselves.

 

 The following text and all images are courtesy of Meg Doller.

Meg gave the opening speech for Where Birds Sing on Saturday 6th December 2014

 

 

Birds have always been fascinating to humans, and especially to artists. Birds have been explored through stories, dance, music, poetry and of course the visual arts throughout history from the ‘Palaeolithic era to the present day.’[i]

We envy them. We envy their ability to fly and their amazing aerial acrobatics which we glimpse in Isabelle’s Brolga Bull Rushes (above left) where the brolgas fly in perfect formation, paper light above a heavy sphere – the earth. We marvel at their performance skills and appreciate their unique singing voices, illustrated joyfully in Kim’s Clarion Call (above right) which celebrates the avian voice and detailed feather patterns.

 
We’re inspired by their artistic flair and inventive use of found items to construct nests – the most functional art. Margaret and Di’s textile based works both utilise the nest form and nest making materials. Di’s use of textiles (above) envelopes us with warmth echoing the safety of the nest.

 Margaret’s textural use of materials (above) present bird, nest and landscape as eternally linked; their nests come from and become part of the landscape in an endless cycle of renewal.

 

 

Janet’s Joy (above) utilises shiny found items, the envy of any magpie, and a very sensual use of clay to create a home and she skilfully pushes the ceramic medium and illustrates the warmth of the wing in Embraced (below left); the transformation of a typically hard and cool to touch material into a warm and comforting embrace is beautiful.

 

We are astonished and heartened by their ability to eke out an existence in incredibly harsh or inhospitable landscapes. Marcus’s painting The Return (above right) explores the passing of time and the capacity for nature to return. Similarly, Kaye’s Endangered Species (below) forces us to consider a future time when humans may find themselves in a very different situation. 

 

Sue’s meticulous exploration of caged animals in Goodbye Blue Sky is contrasted effectively through the juxtaposition of her whimsical piece In The Enchanted Garden (below L-R respectively). We are forced to consider the ethics of caging wild animals as domestic pets. The title of this work is taken from a Pink Floyd song of the same name. Reading these lyrics will add another dimension to the experience of seeing this work.

 

We draw similarities between ourselves and birds by attaching human attributes to different species, as seen in Chris’s portraits (below) in which she has paired prominent women with birds.

 

Women often see themselves as birds supported by our colloquial use of ornithological language. Lynne’s brightly coloured, mixed media pieces (below) present like a forced smile, hiding the reality of her personal situation – a bird in a Gilded Cage.

 

Throughout history, artists have represented birds realistically, exploring, recording and celebrating their unique features. But more commonly, birds act as symbols. Quite possibly the most well-known illustrated bird – the dove - appears spirit like in Amanda’s poignant mixed media work, Time To Fly (below). This work is heavy and full to brimming with tenderness and emotion.

 

Esther’s painting, In The Wake (below), is similarly emotive and conceptually layered; we observe a downcast face and a series of repeated wing like forms and we feel the slow passing of time after an event.

 

Kath’s mixed media piece, Where The Heart Sings (below), presents a layered, interconnected brood of bodies and amorphous forms revealing relationships centred around one bird. This work explores the ability women have for supporting each other to achieve greatness.

 

We appreciate their diversity. In Australia we have close to 900 bird species.[ii]  Their diversity in size, shape, colouration and attributes are matched by the various habitats in which we find them; where birds sing. Linda has created an Overall View (below), a place for birds that is unified by colour, line and shape.

 

Terry’s stylised forest and sea scapes allow us space to imagine ourselves as a bird; we look out of The Gilded Cage to the forest (below right) and the seascape is reflected in our eyes (below left).

And of course in Australia we have a black swan. Bev’s painting Winter Swan (below) highlights the theory of Black Swan events; we see our native swan contrasted against a stark northern winter, a rare event that comes as a surprise.

 

Splinter Contemporary Artists, a flock of contemporary birds from the bush with one handsome rooster from the city, have continued the artistic tradition of exploring birds through contemporary visual arts with tenderness, insight, humour and flair.

Ravens in the Landscape (triptych) by Meg Doller

 

 

 

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[i] http://www.merrellpublishers.com/?9781858945682 accessed 02/12/14

[ii] http://www.environment.gov.au/node/13867 accessed 01/12/14

Beverley Dowd

Splinter Contemporary Artists member for 16 years

From memory what was the first thing you made with your hands?

Growing up in the fifties there was never money for art materials. At home we used the backs of receipt books for drawings. The first object I remember making was in prep when we were given plasticine. It was a hideous brownish-purple colour, but I loved making a den like a cave with little creatures sheltering inside. I was sad to chuck it back into the box when our art session finished. Much later, at TAFE, I carved this woman from Murray Pine. When I’d only just begun, another student, male and very talented, said dismissively, ‘Oh you’re doing Mary and Jesus.’ Annoyed, I then created ‘Woman with duck’!

 

What are you making with your hands right now?

I love painting and drawing most of all. Recently I have been trying the centuries-old technique of oil glazing. It involves an underpainting in black, grey and white followed by up to 15 separate layers of glazing medium made from Damar Varnish, gum turps and cobalt siccative to which is added tiny amounts of colour. It is such a long process as each layer has to dry completely. (I only got to 8 layers!) At present I am having a go at screen-printing and ceramic sculpture with Japanese transfers. Very much a beginner here. 

Why is the art of handmade so important?

Something made by your own hands is a unique expression of yourself and it has a value and an integrity which machine-made things do not. Machine-made things can be very beautiful and where they display the skill of the original designer, they can also be a work of art. But only a handmade piece conveys the intimate connection between artist/craftsperson and audience/user. My mother was a very skilled knitter who took up weaving in her senior years. She wove the wall-hanging pictured, and as I pass it now, many years after her death, I can still see her working at her loom, totally engrossed in the art of handmade.

 

Photographs courtesy of Beverley Dowd, Lynne Hume and Meg Doller.
Beverley can be contacted via Splinter Contemporary Artists.

See more of Beverley's work at Splinter Contemporary Artists on Facebook.

 

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Linda Lee

Artist

 

 

From memory what was the first thing you made with your hands?

I think I played with mud at my Grandma's. I made mud cakes and decorated them with found items like sticks.

 

What are you making with your hands right now?

I have just finished making some poppies for the 5000 Poppies project.* They were made in memory of my husband’s father and grandfather who were both soldiers. My husband belongs to the GV Vietnam Vets and they shared the information on how to make the poppies and get involved. This has been a special project for us.

*As part of the 2015 Anzac Commemoration, the 5000 Poppies project will be “planting” a field of more than 25000 poppies in Fed Square Melbourne as a stunning visual tribute to Australian servicemen and women for more than a century of service in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. http://5000poppies.wordpress.com/about/

 

 

Why is the art of handmade so important?

It gets you back to nature and the basics of making things, from our time in caves. It is both a source of great relaxation, and a wonderful opportunity push the limits of art and creativity.

 

Photographs courtesy of Lynne Hume and Meg Doller.

Linda can be contacted via Splinter Contemporary Artists.

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Esther Costa

Painter

 

From memory, what was the first thing you made with your hands?

I grew up in England’s north where inclement weather often meant indoor activities. My innovative parents always provided materials and support for my brothers and me to draw, paint, sew, weave and build. My hands were often engaged in my love of drawing but the outdoors beckoned the tomboy in me to build snowmen or elaborate effigies of ‘Guy Fawkes’ for the bonfire. One of the first things I probably made was a daisy chain of the delicate pink and white English daisies which grew in the lawn.

What are you making with your hands right now?

I am crushing locally sourced ochre stones using a hard stone tool. This traditional ‘hands on’ activity produces textured pigments for my paintings and mixed media works. I love the variety of ochre shades available in nature, from almost white through the yellows to rich golden browns. The historical significance of ochre is beautifully documented in Victoria Finlay’s book, Colour – Travels through the paintbox.

Why is the art of handmade so important?

I’m always inspired by the sheer diversity of works by others. During my creative process I find it empowering to understand that each of us is unique and contributes in an original way. This validates my own freedom of expression as I explore and translate my core experiences and new ideas. Through the art of handmade we come to know ourselves.

Photographs courtesy of Esther Costa.
Esther can be contacted via Splinter Contemporary Artists.

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Isabelle Kawai Vincent

Bachelor of Fine Art - Printmaking

Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary)
Visual artist working in a variety of mediums including relief printing, painting, drawing and photography 

 

From memory, what was the first thing you made with your hands?

As a child I was drawing on everything. Toilet paper, newspapers, cereal packets, books, wrapping paper; anything I could find. Fortunately, my parents knew someone who worked in the Bendigo Advertiser so they managed to get boxes of off-cuts of butcher paper, which was a sanity saver for everyone. At primary school I had queues of students wanting me to draw images of Bambi for them, and I always had the job of drawing chalk images on the black board for events such as Easter and Christmas. 

 

What are you making with your hands right now? 

At this moment I’m working on a portrait of a friend. I’ve stretched raw cotton duck on a frame and not primed it. I use watered down acrylic paint to stain the canvas and produce a loose brush affect. I create the details using water based textas. I find that you can blend the colours with a stiff brush loaded with water if applied immediately after making a mark. So I need to work quickly. Also using textas on my paintings give a ‘drawing’ affect. I then use opaque paint for highlights and to create definition. The two images above are portrait studies for the final piece.

Why is the art of handmade is so important? 

For me personally, art is my first language and I was born an artist. If I don’t make artwork I feel like my ‘mojo’ is missing and can’t live without it. I had put art making aside for several years while raising my children, which I didn’t mind as they were also very important to me. But now they are independent and living their own lives, being an successful artist is my main focus. So, my art making is quite a selfish endeavour.

Recently I met someone who bought an artwork from my Dying Swan series (above) which changed my attitude to my art making. This series is about the ‘space’ between life and death, inspired by my mother, my cat and the ballet, Swan Lake. It’s a ‘space’ where a life and death are at a crossroad and there is struggle to which way to go; return to the living or continue the transition to death. The ballet dancers, although appearing graceful and delicate, need to be physical and psychologically strong to perform successfully, therefore, became a metaphor for my theme.

I was fortunate to be able chat with the buyer and discovered that she had related to this artwork because she almost died and came back to life, therefore, personally experienced that ‘space’. “ I had to have it” were her very words. It was immensely rewarding for me that my artwork had such a meaningful experience for someone else. Therefore, emotionally and spiritually connecting with people is an extremely rewarding by-product of making artwork. It seems that art can express meanings that words cannot define.

All photographs courtesy of Isabelle Kawai Vincent
Isabelle can be contacted via Splinter Contemporary Artists
See more of Isabelle's work at Isabelle Kawai Vincent Artist Page

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