Over the years I have seen many a tertiary art school's graduate show (even beyond Perth!) and have been delighted, surprised, stunned and mind boggled - not always at the same time nor at the same exhibition - but never have I been as disappointed as when viewing the current offering at Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts.
The catalogue tells us seventeen participating institutions have selected "up to four works that represents the best work created by their recent graduates ... no easy task". The poor dears must have exhausted their good judgement prior to commencing this job. To those of you who do brave the exhibition, be reassured - this is not the best new art available in Australia, just some examples of overworked academics' interpretations of what they have been told art is supposed to be - at least I hope it is.
The selectors were asked "to include work across a range of disciplines" and they have done just that. Of the sixty-five exhibits, about a dozen fall under the heading Fine Art & Objects. The remaining works are to be divided into categories of Amateur Video, Boring Installation, Conceptual Cop-Out and still we're left with sufficient examples of bad kitsch to fill a segment on Burke's Backyard.
Of the Find Art & Objects on display Uta Mooney from the South Australian School of Art at University of South Australia offers the most engaging and beautiful Spiritual Journey. Three large life-vessels take us on a journey that transcends the boundaries of the physical world to carry us safely through spiritual realms. Suspending these white earthenware hulls only adds to the concept of sailing away through time and space. There is a sense of fragility and strength in this work which unites ideas of body and soul.
When it comes to Multimedia/Installations, Trevor Weekes from the School of Fine Art at the University of Newcastle has to take every prize going (including his Phd) for The Magnificent Elephant Bird (The Dig). This ongoing project includes a plethora of art related activities and objects, only one of which is photo-documented here. Weekes is on a different journey, his is an artistic one that brings together intelligence and humour in a seamless union.
In the Design area I do wish the interchangeable furniture modules of Slip by Edward Hung Kwok Wong from the College of Fine Arts at University of New South Whales were on display instead of just photographic representation. I very much admire the idea and the 'look' of the work but would like to relate to their physical scale. A similar complaint goes to Heng Keong Chen from Western Australia School of Visual Arts at Edith Cowan University. Tossed about as they are, it's hard to tell if the components of the intriguing Chapter 1 are finished garments or selections of fabrics. But they are fascinating and one is tempted to fondle them.
A different temptation won and the Exhibition Catalogue saved the day. This attempt to validate the stuff on display must be read aloud to be fully appreciated as it fairly bounces with art-speak. For example, flipping through the pages and picking out phrases at random we get 'the idea of diffusion' 'combined with the use of symbology' 'devoid of a singular didactic message' 'induces a subconscious reaction' 'to this fluidity of surface' 'and notions of absence and presence' 'with sass'. And here I was thinking sass was passé.