This is the fifth annual Community Art Exhibition held by the City of Joondalup incorporating the Joondalup Art Prize. The City of Joondalup is fast emerging as an institution in strong support of the arts, with its extensive cultural calendar of free events that has people from the opposite end of Perth travelling down the Mitchell Freeway eager to participate.
The current exhibition is open to all resident artists of Joondalup. There are four prizes offered to the participants, a $2000 First Prize for the overall winner, a Second Prize of $1000, Student Award of $500 offered to students studying art at TEE level, TAFE or University, and finally the Popular Choice Award of $500. The artworks are available for purchase at the exhibition and are very affordable.
The exhibition features a range of media; sculpture, painting, collage, multi-media, photography, printmaking, and drawing. With an open theme, diversity is definitely the mode of address, with an eclectic range of styles and genres being explored by artists at various levels of practice. Amateurs and professionals reflect every influence in the modern art world. There is a real border of distinction between the generations, and in general the level of aptitude is quite high.
The winning artwork is an interactive piece by Stuart Clipston titled Join-The-Dot-Joon-Da-Loop, which invites the viewer to draw lines of a map between the numbers on a white board with texta. People have a great time contributing to the reassembling of the artwork upon its consequent dissolution. Everyone and anyone is free to have a go. The artist is a graduate of Curtin University, has studied in Paris and has his sights set on New York, according to exhibition curator Caroline Lunel. Student Jerrem Lynch won his category with a digital print on canvas entitled Why They Hate Contemporary Art.
One remarkable piece is an etching titled Gibb River by John Stockdale. The artist has superimposed a view of the landscape with designs of the Wandjina, the rain spirit of the Kimberley People. The metaphor is explicit; the Wandjina is a pervasive presence over the land.
The painting Day Dream by Barbara Troncone brings one close to the experience of Kings Park. Far from being merely visual, this serene setting leads one to far placed in the imagination. Also evocative is a classical sculpture in resin of the ballerina Odette by William Huntley. It is an energetic piece, as she reclines the dancer's stretch reaches out in surrender.
The Musical by Tarryn Gill and Pilar Mata is an amusing video of a spontaneous song and dance routine, performed in the local Joondalup Square, by two women seemingly on lunch break from their office. The crowd is bewildered by the unprompted 'happening' whilst other performers emerge, in various modes of dress, to join in the routine. This is the essence of the 'life is art' concept and takes one away from the mundane conditionings of day to day. It's no surprise that one of the project collaborators is the renowned Tim Burns.
The City of Joondalup Art Exhibition is a commendable triumph for all contributors and a source of encouragement to other communities to get together and show off their work, and perhaps make a profit.