HATCHED
16th April - 5th June, 2011
PICA (Perth
Institute of Contemporary Art)
Reviewed by Deirdre Keenaghan
Once a
year the art world in Perth opens a small window and lets in some fresh
air. This brings in new artists from every corner of Australia; the gig
is called Hatched. It is the
much highlighted graduation show on the nation and this year it
celebrates its twentieth birthday. This year
Thomas Rentmeister, the renowned German artist and lecturer, was part
of the selection committee together with Keigh Robb. Thirty-five
artists were chosen from the seventy-two submissions from various
tertiary institutions across Australia.
In the lower floor gallery dark coloured tree trunk shapes are covered
with black tape. Then there is the sound of children playing in two
circles on the floor, all part of the work Beam me up Kenny by Kenneth
Kronberger. Looking at the roughly drawn words it may refer to child's
play.
I was captivated by Ryan Presley's Blood
Money comprised of four large watercolour representations of
dollar notes. The artist uses the media well to create strong
illustrative quality. Some of the detail in the ten and twenty notes
looks rushed however the fifty and hundred dollar notes are convincing.
Caitlin Halsall's exhibit, Painting
Booth is a bit of optical overload involving painted objects,
toys glued to wood, coloured string wound around nails hammered into
wood, chicken wire and neon tubing. It is a chaotic and spontaneous
work which, unfortunately, I could not find its message.
On the far wall was Talking to a
Stranger by Chris Thiel. These oil on board paintings create
interest with their mark making and how the artist has captured a
sinister element with lovely imagery and a brave use of colour.
The drips and smudges adds movement and depth to the work.
Upstairs, the video area features Structures
to Move To (Conversations at Work) by Chloe Hughes. Three
workers describe their jobs and talk about their role and purpose.
Shots of an office, work spaces and the token dying plant accompany the
audio. One man talks about work and the strain on his family. This work
is appealing as the artist helps the viewer to consider something we do
everyday without thought and I reacted by thinking about my work and my
purpose. A gallery worker explains how he has found new ways to stand,
sit and survive in a gallery for the day. I felt it was thought
provoking; the shots were clever and observational. I did notice there
was no art in the gallery perhaps a metaphor for the vacuous job.
The Darkroom is My Lover is
the title of the large black and white prints by Tiffiny Sassafrass. Strong in their simplicity and holding an
element of drawing, they
seem to be in contrast to the many other exhibits of installations and
video providing a refreshing break. The marks are curious, there is an
x-ray type image of faces. There is a mix of techniques; photo
development, photocopying, the use of ink an d drawing. The artist
added a personal value by including parts of her own body
cleverly hidden within the strong black and white image. I found myself
examining this work for a long time as it holds the viewer's attention
and dominates the space.
Jonathan Liddell's film, Anmer,
reminds me of early black and white movies. There is a sense that this,
and Inez De Vega's video, When We
Were Dying, and other audio works are revisiting media of the
1980's.
Ruth Feeney's Unfilled, is a
stencil work on the floor with ground tea. The comparison between the
delicate work and the subject of poorly made modern furniture, is
clever and an aesthetically strong, pleasing exhibit. The work
offers a lot of material to ponder and the colour of the tea connects
well to the wood of the furniture. Meanwhile, the carefully cut
stencils are commendable.
The optical lens exhibit by Claire Kruzedky entitled In(side) Out, uses various found
objects placed behind transparent screens. There is a clever transfer
of an image of the city buildings outside, onto the screen. Other
images are created by different events outside the window which keeps
the work alive and unpredictable. The artist used the optical lens to
create the image in this strong and original exhibit.
The Hatched provides many artists their first chance to show their work
in a major exhibition. There certainly were highlights for me; the
works by Chris Theil and Tiffiny Sassafrass and the delicate work by
Ruth Feeney, as well as the video by Chloe Hughes for examples. This
year the show had a big emphasis on film and video but it seemed to
miss some of the exciting advances that have occurred in this medium in
the last decade. I hope the exhibition continues to encourage students
to do what they do best; taking risks and pushing the boundaries in the
visual arts.