Fremantle Arts Centre is on the precipice of an exciting new creative era with the appointment of nationally celebrated curator Glenn Iseger-Pilkington to the role of Curator Visual Arts.
Renowned for his deep respect and curiosity for artists, Glenn – a Nhanda & Nyoongar man – brings 15 years’ experience working with First Nations artists across Australia and has held positions across state galleries and museums developing collections, exhibitions and engagement frameworks nationally and abroad.
Prior to founding his own arts consultancy, GEE Consultancy, Glenn held curatorial roles at the Art Gallery of Western Australia, WA Museum Boola Bardip and the South Australian Museum. Glenn’s most recent curatorial undertaking was the exhibition nyinalanginy | the gathering at Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, presented in partnership with the Perth Festival.
Chosen following a highly competitive national selection process, FAC Director Anna Reece said Glenn stood out for his bold approach and sophisticated values-led creative ethos which aligns with Fremantle Arts Centre’s purpose.
“Glenn steps into the role of Curator Visual Arts embracing a multiplicity of artists, cultures and disciplines,” she said. “His knowledge of and commitment to his local community is exceptional. His vision is ambitious and inspiring, and he will without a doubt contribute powerfully to the next chapter of Fremantle Arts Centre.”
Glenn is looking forward to joining FAC full time having worked alongside the team in varying capacities for many years, most recently as a member of the Revealed Advisory Group.
“I’ve always admired FAC’s engagement with audiences, its commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, and its overt and unwavering focus on platforming Western Australian stories, art and culture,” Glenn said.
“Under the leadership of Director Anna Reece, and with continued support from the City of Fremantle, we have a unique moment to reflect on the organisation’s positioning and purpose, and to redefine FAC’s mission and role within the local and national arts communities.
“Curatorially I am interested in the power of truth-telling and in employing exhibition-making to reveal place-based narrative, and narrative of the people who navigate these spaces – stories of Walyalup, Boorloo and greater Western Australia. In telling these stories we highlight our difference, our nuance, but importantly, we explore our shared humanity, and all that connects us to each other.
“FAC has always made itself a safe place for artists, ideas and discourse, and I am looking forward to continuing this work with the team, delivering a program of meaningful opportunities that support artistic excellence, encourage experimentation, bolster artistic careers and create space for underserviced artistic communities and audiences.”
Glenn will commence as FAC’s Curator Visual Arts in June.
Media enquiries: Andrea Woods
andreaw@fremantle.wa.gov.au | 08 9432 9564
The Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award – Australia’s longest-running and most prestigious printmaking award – returns in 2021, showcasing works of remarkable breadth and poignancy from emerging, mid-career and cross disciplinary visual artists.
After a year’s hiatus due to COVID, the 45th FAC Print Award was welcomed with open arms by the sector, attracting 262 entries from across the country.
Among the 51 finalist works are a diverse selection of traditional printmaking, artist books and unconventional multi-media works, many of which probe at the impact of the pandemic and the fault lines of contemporary society it exposed.
Emma Buswell, FAC Print Award Coordinator explained “With the forced isolation of 2020, many artists spent a lot of time alone in their studios, offering them the time to play with unusual ideas and, indeed, to reflect on the often sombre, indeterminate mood of the outside world.”
Daniel O’Shane, Irukili (to be engulfed by magical forces), 2020, vinylcut relief print, 114 x 218cm, 1/25, printed by Theo Tremblay (Editions Tremblay NFP)
Among the cohort of finalists is acclaimed Western Australian artist Susanna Castleden, whose enormous seven-metre-long work features a graphite imprint of plane wings from a 1950s Expeditor. Her work speaks to the lost worlds of planes and of travel that were once integral to our lives, and now languish in semi-permanent exile in the desert, obscured from our reality.
Kununurra-based artist Dan McCabe’s work is a 1:1 scale representation of a Mitsubishi car, rendered in sublimation print on fabric. Also functioning as a tent, the work explores concerns around homelessness and housing affordability; issues which have indeed worsened as a result of the pandemic, offering the work a new, darker significance.
These notions of home and the built environment are also reflected in the work of artist duo Pip Lewi and Paul Sutherland. They worked collaboratively on a print which articulates the network of roads and built environment immediately surrounding their home. A documentation of the rituals of daily suburban existence, their work mirrors the universal experience of being landlocked and rediscovering our own backyards.
These works will be presented alongside 47 other finalists, from recent graduates to nationally esteemed mid-senior career artists, in an exhibition that has long been a highlight of the FAC exhibition calendar.
The winner of the award will receive a $16,000 cash prize and their work will be acquired for the City of Fremantle Art Collection. The runner up will be awarded $6,000.
Fremantle Arts Centre Director Anna Reece commented, “Australia’s premier showcase of printmaking for almost half a century, the Print Award allows us the great privilege to uncover and celebrate emerging artists and leading practitioners across the medium, and across the country.”
From 2022, the FAC Print Award will become a biannual event, occurring every second year to enable greater flexibility within the curatorial program while ensuring this nationally respected award maintains the exceptional calibre, prestige and platform it deserves.
The 45th FAC Print Award winner will be announced at the opening of the exhibition. Running in parallel with the Print Award is Deanna Hitti’s exhibition Object Of The Game, which also opens on 6pm, Friday 28 May.
2021 Judging Panel
Felicity Johnston: Curator and Director, Art Collective WA
Rachel Salmon-Lomas: Printmaking lecturer and technician, Curtin University
Lia McKnight: Western Australian visual artist and Collection Manager, Curtin University
The Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award opens 6:30pm Friday 28 May and is open 10am–5pm daily until Sunday 18 July.
Media Enquiries: Rosamund Brennan | 08 9432 9565 | rosamundb@fremantle.wa.gov.au
Header image: Dan McCabe, Shadows on the hill, 2016-ongoing, digital photographic print on synthetic fabric, 140 x 164 x 450cm. Image courtesy the artist
A Badimia and Yued woman, born on Whadjak Country, Amanda Bell lives and works on Wadandi land by the sea. She has a diverse creative repertoire, working with sculptural materials, video, sound, textiles, found objects, and most recently neon lighting. Her works are ambitious and experimental, and with them she aims to “… try new ways of telling stories that are sometimes uncomfortable and painful, sometimes fun and frivolous.”
Amanda Bell is among five artists who will be speaking at the Revealed Artist Talks on Saturday 15 May. Ahead of the event, we chatted to her about the fascinating story behind From our lips, mouths, throat and belly, the dazzling neon artwork which features in this year’s Revealed Exhibition.
Your artwork in the 2021 Revealed exhibition features the word “Moorditj” (Good) in large neon lettering. Why did you decide to feature this word? Does it hold any special significance in Noongar culture?
I knew that I wanted a word – one of our Noongar words – to be big and bold. Moorditj means ‘Good’ or ‘Awesome’ in Noongar. You hear people all the time saying “You’re Moorditj” or “Moorditj Yorga”. It’s a very commonly used word that is old and new at the same time, connecting the past with the future. It’s a way of connecting back, and in part it links to the experience of my mother’s passing. It’s inspired by language and connecting with ancestors through words.
Amanda Bell, From our lip, mouths, throats and belly, 2021, neon, audio, 158 x 300 x 6cm
Can you tell us a bit more about your mother’s passing and how that has influenced this work?
At the same time as I was looking after Mum, I was part of a Noongar singing group. I was learning Noongar language and I was on Duo Lingo learning Welsh (my mother’s tongue). It was a way of connecting with her ancestors and the past. As she got older, she started using more of the Welsh words from her childhood. Words are a very powerful way to connect to and honour our past, and the work is a reflection of this. I started my art practice when I was caring for my elderly mum. I couldn’t go anywhere in my head, so I went away in my art practice. That was the kind of the springboard for everything I’m working on now.
Why did you decide to call the work From our lips, mouths, throat and belly?
I didn’t want to call the artwork Moorditj as I thought it would be too obvious. The idea for the title emerged when I was talking to one of my mates who did a PHD at UWA looking at the brain and human biology. I asked her about the body and the evolution of language over time, as she said the word Moorditj, like many other Noongar words, would’ve carried the same meaning and the same phonetic sound to our ancestors as it does today. That why I called it that, because words are ancient. Moorditj has been said the same way for thousands of years. Our bodies are the same even though hundreds of years separate us.
Alongside the work is some audio stories from Elders Aunty Gloria and Aunty Lola. Can you tell us about your relationship with them and why you wanted to include their stories?
I collected audio stories from two Elders in my community, Aunty Gloria and Aunty Lola. They are good friends of mine who I met at the women’s group I used to attend. I wanted to exhibit their stories alongside the work as I wanted to explore what was Moorditj in their lives and what the word meant to them. They are both very strong and happy people, even though they experienced some hardship. I asked Aunty Gloria, was it a hard life? And she said no it wasn’t. There is a sadness there but they kind of gloss over it and get on with life. That is resilience.
Revealed Exhibition Artist Talks | Sat 15 May | 1:45pm | Free entry
Amanda Bell, From our lips, mouths, throat and belly, 2021, neon, audio, 1
Showing until 23 May, Straight Outta Wilurarra offers a rare glimpse into Aboriginal youth culture in the Western Desert. We speak to Silvano Giordano – Wilurarra Creative’s Director – about desert selfies, life in the outback and the transformative power of storytelling.
The ‘selfie’, that ubiquitous symbol of millennial navel-gazing, mightn’t seem like the most obvious tool to empower and educate young people in remote Western Australia. Indeed, the selfie is often maligned as an emblem of millennial narcissism; responsible, in part, for engendering an unhealthy obsession with image and appearance.
But for a group of young adults the Ngaanyatjarra Lands – a remote swathe of desert bordering Western Australia and the Northern Territory – the selfie has become a powerful vehicle for self-expression; a means to tell their stories in their own way.
In the tiny town of Warburton, a burgeoning art centre known as Wilurarra Creative has become the beating heart of Ngaanyatjarra youth culture, with a self-directed learning program which has been embraced by locals aged 17-30.
Wilurarra Creative’s director Silvano Giordano says, “We allow Ngaanyatjarra young adults to express themselves in whatever form that takes, whether that be self-portraiture, fashion design, hairdressing or music production. It’s about standing up, styling up and being proud.”
This unconventional approach empowers young adults to explore their identity, culture, gender and relationships in a joyful and playful way, while creating meaningful opportunities for young people to learn new skills and engage with their communities.
Angelica McLean, ‘Kunkga Kutja (One Girl)’. Image courtesy the artist and Wilurarra Creative
“It makes their hearts happy”
A centre-piece of Wilurarra’s offering is Alanya Magazine, a glossy fashion and youth culture magazine named after the Ngaanyatjarra term for ‘looking good’.
From fashion portraits shot in the desert to feature stories about Wilurarra’s swag of musicians and behind the scenes images of the magazine’s creation, Alanya is a vivid, 100-page portrait of living creativity in the Ngaanyatjarra communities.
The magazine is a result of two years of workshops and development at Wilurarra. More than 90 people collaborate to make it happen including, of course, many Ngaanyatjarra youth who grace its pages – as writers, models, photographers, designers and stylists.
Artist Brett Jennings says of the publication, “If you look at it, this book here, it’s keeping our kids strong (…) and keeping them here without having to go live in town and face all the consequences like court cases and prison, without money trouble.”
“They see this and they see themselves in a different way… it lifts their spirits, makes them dance, makes their heart happy.”
The latest edition of the magazine is available to browse at Straight Outta Wilurarra, alongside a mini replica of Wilurarra Creative’s premises, including a selfie booth, portraits taken by emerging Ngaanyatjarra artists, a hair salon and photography studio.
Extreme poverty, extreme cultural richness
With a population of just 600, high living costs and low school attendance, Wilurarra Creative also plays an essential role in providing training, career pathways and mental health support for Ngaanyatjarra youth.
“There isn’t a huge uptake with school here, plus there is no TAFE or universities,” Silvano explained. “And many of the community projects here are not culturally appropriate in that they are too paternalistic.”
“Wilurarra Creative has always worked alongside Ngaanyatjarra people. We put the equipment directly into the hands of young adults.”
The photographic studio at Wilurarra Creative in Warburton
Their on-site hair salon not only provides a safe space for self-care and socialising, but runs as a social enterprise salon, training and upskilling many young adults in the tools of the trade.
And their fully equipped music studio has fostered the talents of several up and coming musical stars, some of whom, including the Red Sand Beat Band, have gone on to become YouTube sensations and toured across WA.
Wilurarra’s program not only demonstrates the incredible artistic ingenuity springing from some of WA’s most remote and regional areas, but the power of creativity and storytelling in driving social change and fostering mental health.
“We don’t have problems with suicide here,” says Silvano. “Young people in Warburton are not killing themselves. This goes to show just how transformative it is for people to have a place where they belong, it cannot be underestimated.”
Straight Outta Wilurarra is showing at FAC until Sun 23 May. Free entry, all welcome.
What’s the one thing more satisfying than silver smithing your own new pair of earrings? Lathering them in a bright dollop of enamel paint.
“Colour has always been a large focus of mine. I strongly believe in dopamine dressing,” says Kate Sale, a celebrated Australian jeweller and tutor of a series of new courses at FAC, focussing on unconventional approaches to contemporary jewellery-making.
“Over many years I have played with so many techniques to find the perfect way to create pieces that tick all the boxes: bold, light weight, durable, unique and fun.”
Kate’s courses are among a swag of new offerings for term two that invite students – from beginners to seasoned visual artists – to explore beyond ‘normal’ approaches to art making.
As well as learning powder coating and jewellery design under Kate’s watchful eye, students can dive into the vivid world of colour theory with nationally respected painter Desmond Sweeney, get their hands dirty with Holly O’Meehan’s hand-building clay objects course, discover block printing and screen printing with Bori Benko, and carve intricate wooden objects with sculptor Greg Miller.
Read on to discover more about these highly anticipated new courses (commencing from 3 May), offering new and surprising ways to expand your creative horizons in the fun and supportive environment of FAC’s studios.
Colour in Action
In this nine-week course, painter, muralist and set designer Desmond Sweeney will delve into the fundamentals of colour theory: why colours are used, their origin, how to mix and harmonise colours to create artworks that are both visually arresting and captivating. Whether it is for your curiosity, for a project, or your own art practice, students will leave this class with an in-depth understanding of colour, learning from popular culture, architecture, fashion, and of course, the many great masters of colour in fine art.
For more information:
- Colour in Action (Fri 7 May — Fri 2 Jul 2021)
Earrings by Kate Sale. Image courtesy of artist
Contemporary Jewellery Making
Learn from esteemed contemporary jeweller Kate Sale in these new nine-week courses, designed to explore traditional jewellery making techniques with a modern twist. Known for her bright, modern, and very colourful pieces, Kate is constantly on the lookout for new and unconventional ways to craft a piece of jewellery, using a combination of techniques including silver smithing, lost wax, laser engraving, cast in place stone setting, traditional stone setting, powder coating and electroforming.
In this Q&A, Kate – who studied Jewellery at NMIT in Melbourne – shares insights into her practice, inspirations and teaching methodology.
Q&A: Kate Sale
- How did your jewellery making journey begin? Is it something you have always been interested in?
For as long as I can remember, I was making jewellery for family and friends. As I got older, my passion for jewellery grew. I went to university and became a nurse, but my true love was jewellery. I studied jewellery at night through TAFE and attended many short courses to obtain the knowledge I have today. I am a strong believer of life-long learning and will always attend more jewellery courses to expand my knowledge. - In your own jewellery practice, you are drawn to bold, geometric pieces with lots of colour. What attracts you to this style?
I have always been a lover of bold jewellery pieces but found many of the pieces that were available to me in ‘mainstream’ fashion were made from plastic or polymer clay. I wanted to create unique and bold pieces that were made from metal, especially sterling silver so that they would be easy for me to wear and would stand the test of time.
Colour has always been a large focus of mine as I strongly believe in dopamine dressing. Wearing bright and colourful jewellery makes me feel happy and people often comment that my jewellery has the same effect on them. Over many years I have played with so many techniques to find the perfect way to create pieces that tick all the boxes that I wanted in jewellery – bold, light weight, durable, unique and fun.
- You mention that you like experimenting with unconventional techniques. Could you please detail what these are? Will you be teaching any of these techniques in your classes at FAC?
Small scale powder coating (not using the traditional industrial methods) is fairly new to jewellery. Through experimenting with this and perfecting the techniques, I have opened a colourful door for my jewellery designs. Playing with this technique and combining it with more traditional jewellery methods has pushed conventional jewellery design limits. Using this modern technology, I have been able to deeply engrave metal with images which can be used to create striking, modern and expressive jewellery.
In traditional jewellery work, jewellers focus on one technique when making a piece. I believe that through combining a myriad of techniques such as silver smithing, lost wax, laser engraving, cast in place stone setting, traditional stone setting, powder coating and electroforming, you can create whatever your heart desires. All these techniques can be explored in my classes.
- Delving into the coursework, what does the process of powder coating entail, and how do you go about teaching this in your class?
Powder coating is a relatively easy process but it takes time to practice. Once you have a piece (or metal of any description really) ready, you heat the piece with a heat gun, quickly dip the piece into the powder, heat the piece again and let it cool. Once cool, you can alter your design or remove any areas of powder that you do not want before putting it in a small oven to bake. To add multiple colours or designs, you can then repeat the process or add enamel paints before sealing the piece with a topcoat.
For more information:
- Make Contemporary Jewellery Using Traditional Techniques (Wed 5 May 2021 — Wed 30 Jun 2021)
- Powder Coating & Jewellery Making (Wed 5 May 2021 — Wed 30 Jun 2021)
Hand-building Functional Objects in Clay
In this tactile, hands-on five week course, you’ll become well acquainted with our delightful ceramics studio at FAC. Under the tuition of emerging Western Australian artist Holly O’Meehan, learn to hand build your own organic, functional ceramic objects. Using coil, slab and pinching techniques with clay, design and create your very own ceramic cups, jugs or vases.
For more information:
- Hand-building Functional Objects in Clay (Sat 8 May 2021 — Sat 5 Jun 2021)
Wood carving spoons. Image courtesy of Greg Miller
An Adventure in Whittling & Wood Carving
Under the guidance of experienced 3D artist Greg Miller, this eight-week course explores the fundamentals of whittling and wood carving including: basic knife skills, how to tattoo wood, 2D and 3D whittling skills, chip carving, relief carving alongside a focus on design and execution. Each week will focus on a small project and object to create, leaving students with a bounty of new skills and artistic creations to take home.
For more information:
- An Adventure in Whittling & Wood Carving (Mon 3 May 2021 — Mon 28 Jun 2021)
Term 2 Adult Art Courses commence Monday 3 May and run weekdays, weekends and nights until Friday 2 July. Browse the full program and enrol at fac.org.au/courses/adults.
As the final days of the season approach for A Forest of Hooks and Nails we caught up with exhibiting artists Phoebe Clarke, Zev Weinstein and Maxxi Minaxi May to learn more about the works they created, and what aspects of Fremantle Arts Centre and exhibition install sparked their curiosity.
Phoebe Clarke
Phoebe Clarke is a Perth-based visual artist. Her practice is multidisciplinary, but Phoebe’s passion lies with making installation sculpture, driven by materiality. Having worked on FAC’s install crew for three years, Phoebe was torn how to approach the brief for A Forest of Hooks and Nails – there were so many possibilities!
In the end, she grasped the opportunity to work on a large scale, creating two new works – an installation which involved cladding one of the fireplaces in the Main Gallery entirely in felt, and a group of hanging textile works.
Both works reflect on FAC’s building and the many lives it has lived since being built in the 1890s. It was an asylum, a women’s home and a naval base before eventually being re-purposed as an arts centre. Her works elegantly position those uses as different skins, or different lenses through which to view the space.
Phoebe Clarke, Prior to, 2021, organza and embroidery thread, dimensions variable. Photography by Rebecca Mansell
Zev Weinstein
When asked how to describe his practice Zev Weinstein responded that, “I take weird photos and spend lots of time splashing around in the ocean.” It’s a modest response considering he studied photography and contemporary art at ECU and is widely considered a skilled photographer.
For A Forest of Hooks and Nails, Zev drew from his family history and personal memories, while responding to the recent Fremantle Arts Centre exhibition Orange: Sannyas in Fremantle (2017). Zev’s parents were connected with the Rajneesh movement in Oregon and Puna.
To create his audio-visual installation Zev photographed family objects including his father’s mala, combining his photographs with found imagery and personal archival material. The mesmerising results fulfil Zev’s wish to create an aesthetic and explore a feeling, rather than make a political judgement.
Zev Weinstein, (photographs L-R), Breathe, 2016, 35mm photograph on Hahnemuhle satin rag, 96 x 67cm, edition 1/10. Osho, 2020, found image on Hahnemuhle satin rag, 96 x 59cm, edition 1/10. Mala, 2018, 35mm photograph on Hahnemuhle satin rag, 96 x 67cm, edition 1/10. Zev Weinstein, Ecstatic television, 2021, CRT TV and single channel video, 11 mins 8 secs. Song credit: I can only bliss out (F’days), Laraaji. Photography by Rebecca Mansell
Zev Weinstein, Breathe, 2018, 35mm photograph on Hahemuhle satin rag, 96 x 67cm, ed. 1 of 10. Photography by Rebecca Mansell
Maxxi Minaxi May
Process is very important to Maxxi Minaxi May’s work. The multi-disciplinary artist works with sculpture, mixed-media, printmaking and installation, playing with the relationships between the industrial and the everyday.
Maxxi’s series of small sculptures in A Forest of Hooks and Nails display her trademark playfulness and use of colour.
After brainstorming works that related to install, tools and FAC itself, Maxxi finally settled on the use of rulers. Available in so many shapes and forms, the rulers in these works no longer function as measuring devices but have become tools of form and structure. Colour and pattern were brought to life when lighting was introduced, another vital element of install. The refracting light is almost like a drawing projected onto the walls of the galleries.
Maxxi Minaxi May, The light crystals, 2021, FSC wood and plastic rulers, glue, 33 x 11 x 198cm. Photography by Rebecca Mansell
Maxxi Minaxi May, The light crystals (detail), 2021, FSC wood and plastic rulers, glue, 33 x 11 x 198cm. Photography by Rebecca Mansell
Follow the Artists for more!
Follow @phoebe.flynn.clark @zev.weinstein and @maxxi_minaxi_may_artist to see what other projects are coming up for these three!
A Forest of Hooks and Nails closes 5pm Sunday 14 March. Free entry
Top image: Phoebe Clarke, A breath felt, 2021, felt, fire bellow, video with sound, dimensions variable. Photography by Rebecca Mansell
Revealed Exhibition: New and Emerging WA Aboriginal Artists
Opening 4pm Thu 25 Mar | Free entry
Runs Fri 26 Mar – Sun 23 May
Revealed WA Aboriginal Art Market | Online Event
Mon 29 Mar – Thu 1 Apr
In spite of all the challenges of the past twelve months – major events cancelled, strict travel restrictions and art centre closures – WA’s Aboriginal artists continue to create an amazing array of quality artworks, and programs like Revealed, which connect these artists with new audiences, have never been more important.
Revealed celebrates the vitality and diversity of Aboriginal artistic practice in Western Australia through an exhibition, online art market and two days of professional development workshops specifically tailored for Aboriginal artists and Art Centre staff, presented by Fremantle Arts Centre.
The prestigious Revealed Exhibition presents the works of over 100 new and emerging WA Aboriginal Artists in 2021. There are more than 300 fresh, contemporary artworks spanning a huge range of styles and mediums including painting, installation, textiles, photography, print media, video, jewellery, carving and sculpture.
Bessie Daylight, Bat and Goanna Ngarranggarni (detail), 2020, ochre and acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50cm. Image courtesy the artist and Warmun Art Centre
In addition to 31 remote and regional Aboriginal Art Centres, this year’s Revealed features the highest number of independent artists in the program’s history, including artists from Broome, Derby, Wickham, Ngarluma (Roebourne), Wadandi (Bunbury & South West), Whadjuk (Perth metropolitan) and Wilman (Dwellingup) Country.
“Increasing participation for independent artists has been a major focus for this year’s Revealed,” says Fremantle Arts Centre Revealed Exhibition Coordinator Jane Chambers.
“Without the infrastructure of an arts centre to support them, it can be really difficult for independent artists to connect with audiences and find opportunities to pursue their creative practice. The strength and variety of their works add a different perspective to the exhibition, which we can’t wait to share.”
Chenise Cameron’s works stand out as one such perspective. The 16-year old emerging Wongatha photographer is still at high school but already her strikingly beautiful photographs of family, friends and the stunning Country near where she lives in Wickham are sure to make her an exhibition stand out.
Independent artist Amanda Bell, a Badimia and Yued woman, born on Whadjak country and raised on Wadandi land by the sea, returns for her second year in the Revealed Exhibition with an ambitious foray into a new medium. From our lips, mouth, throats and belly is a largescale glass and neon installation of her favourite Noongar word Moorditj! (meaning strong, good) which will beam across the gallery, simultaneously strong in impact and fragile in materiality.
“I had a vision of a beautiful Noongar word, as old as Boodja and as new as now, shining for all to see,” Amanda said. “I honour this word, this Country and our people.”
See the full list of artists participating in this year’s Revealed Exhibition.
All works in the Revealed Exhibition are for sale.
In addition to the Exhibition, the hugely popular Revealed WA Aboriginal Art Market, which was sadly cancelled in 2020, returns as an expanded online event in 2021.
Running for four days Monday 29 March – Thursday 1 April, an online event ensures the market can proceed and secure vital income for artists. It also means people living outside WA now have the chance to be part of the event and take home their very own Revealed artwork.
The Revealed Market is unique in that it’s the only event where Western Australian remote and regional art centres participate alongside several independent artists.
There will be a huge range of paintings, textiles, carved artefacts, homewares, prints, clothing, ceramics, jewellery and more available in a breadth of styles.
Artworks cost as little as $50 and 100% of profits raised from sales at the Revealed Market return to the artists and art centres.
Interested people may register for exclusive first access before sales open for the general public.
+ ALSO OPENING: STRAIGHT OUTTA WILURARRA
Opening alongside the Revealed Exhibition, Straight Outta Wilurarra makes a bold statement on the culture, style and unique voices of Western Desert people.
Travis Lane, Self-portrait, 2020, photographic print. Image courtesy Wilurarra Creative
Spanning music, fashion, design, writing and photography, Wilurarra Creative is an arts hub in the remote community of Mirlirrtjarra (Warburton) on the Ngaanyatjarra Lands, 900km north-west of Kalgoorlie. For the past 16 years Wilurarra Creative has supported Ngaanyatjarra young adults to explore and express personal and collective identity, capturing the songs, stories, styles, language, artwork and living creativity of contemporary Ngaanyatjarra culture.
The Wilurarra Creative hub will be recreated in one of FAC’s galleries with a photographic studio, selfie booth, hair salon and art works.
Media Enquiries: Andrea Woods | andreaw@fremantle.wa.gov.au | 08 9432 9564
Header image: Chenise Cameron, Untitled #2, 2020, photographic print, ed. 1 of 3, 61 x 60cm. Image courtesy the artist
Angela Ferolla has had a long relationship with Fremantle Arts Centre. She’s been a popular tutor for 15 years – teaching adults and kids a range of textile-related skills from sewing machine basics to screen printing. She’s also been part of FAC’s install crew for the last two years.
Having studied textiles and visual arts at university, Angela ran a business making screen printed clothes for 10 years before returning to study fashion and textiles at TAFE. From here she moved to Japan to complete a fashion internship and cemented her love for fashion and textiles that tell a story.
After a successful and varied career with stints teaching textiles, designing costumes and taking on commercial commissions, Angela has returned to her fine arts practice in recent years.
For A Forest of Hooks and Nails Angela pays homage to the ancient flora that would have grown on the site we now know as Fremantle Arts Centre before the building was erected.
In her meticulous fashion, Angela created a pattern made up of 20 different plant and flower species to screen print directly onto the concrete floor in one of the passages which connect FAC’s gallery spaces.
To install the work, each flower was printed, hand painted and then re-printed in acrylic paint to create a seamless design.
Fellow FAC installer Phoebe Tran assisting with install of Angela Ferolla’s A particular garden before. Image courtesy of Angela Ferolla
Located in a thoroughfare, the work will likely wear away over the course of the exhibition, a choice Angela says reflects the transient delicacy of the natural environment.
Adorning the walls in the same corridor, Angela has hand stitched each plant individually, creating a fragile record of each species.
Angela Ferolla, A particular garden before, 2021, screenprinted and handpainted acrylic paint on concrete, dimensions variable. Photography by Rebecca Mansell
Angela Ferolla, A particular garden before (detail), 2021, screenprinted and handpainted acrylic paint on concrete, dimensions variable. Photography by Rebecca Mansell
Angela Ferolla, Bossiaea Eriocarpa, 2021, hand stitching on cotton organdy, 29 x 29cm. Photography by Rebecca Mansell
To find out what’s next for Angela follow her on Instagram @angela_ferolla or enrol in one of her classes.
A Forest of Hooks and Nails is open 10am – 5pm daily until Sunday 14 March. Free entry
For this year’s Perth Festival FAC presents A Forest of Hooks and Nails, an exhibition of new works which sees FAC’s install crew become the artists. Creating new artworks specific to the building’s history, architecture and their experiences working behind the scenes, the exhibition is rich and varied.
We’re catching up with some of the artists to find out more about their practice and the works they’ve created, kicking off with Rob Kettels.
For A Forest of Hooks and Nails Rob has filled Gallery 3 with 2.5 tonnes of rock salt for his work Mineral Rites, painting out the space with a dreamy pink gradient which we know visitors are going to love.
Hi Rob, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your practice?
I am an artist and PhD candidate at Curtin University. My art practice addresses specific slippages and errors – in art and the natural sciences – which continue to define the ways in which the environment is perceived in contemporary Western culture.
Tell us about the work you’ve created for A Forest of Hooks and Nails
The inspiration for my installation was based on a photograph I took in the Central Desert. It was taken on the dry salt-lake Wilkinkarra / Lake Mackay, one of Australia’s remotest places and fourth largest lake. In 2016, I tried and failed to walk across Wilkinkarra / Lake Mackay for a university art project. But the failure led to a new direction in my art practice and I started investigating the classical division between the inorganic and organic in Western ways of knowing the environment. By proposing an alternate point of view, my artwork aims to question the established metaphors used in the imaginary of the geologic.
Rob Kettels, Mineral Rites, 2021, salt, lighting gel, audio, acrylic paint, 437 x 890 x 539cm. Image courtesy of the artist
How long have you been part of FAC’s install crew?
I have been on the install crew since 2018, I started work on Carbon Supremacy by Andrew Sunley Smith (part of the group exhibition SPAN). My install Mineral Rites is loosely in “conversation” with Andrew’s Carbon Supremacy. Andrew filled Galley 3 with shredded tires, it was at that time I had the idea to fill Galley 3 with salt.
What’s your most memorable install experience?
Getting covered head to toe in soot from while working on Carbon Supremacy by Andrew Sunley Smith.
What was it like installing your own work for this exhibition?
The gradient on the walls for Mineral Rites took five days to paint, I was literally dreaming about gradients during that time.
What other projects have you got coming up?
I have an exhibition with Larissa Losch at Heathcote Gallery in May this year. We will be exploring the contemporary human relationship with the geologic.
Where can people keep up with your work?
They can visit my website robertkettels.com or follow me on Instagram @robkettels
A Forest of Hooks and Nails officially opens 6:30pm tonight Fri 19 Feb and runs until Sun 14 Mar
Top image: Rob Kettels in his installation Mineral Rites, 2021, salt, lighting gel, audio, acrylic paint,
437 x 890 x 539cm. Image courtesy of the artist
Fremantle Arts Centre’s 2021 Perth Festival exhibition, A Forest of Hooks and Nails, sees the organisation’s install team, a crew of talented multidisciplinary artists juggling casual work while establishing their own practices, step into the spotlight and present new works which explore FAC’s galleries, iconic building and colourful history with their unique insider knowledge.
Opening 6:30pm Wednesday 3 February, A Forest of Hooks and Nails is curated by FAC Install Coordinator Tom Freeman and features ten WA artists working across a variety of media including screenprinting, largescale installation, video and audio work, interactive displays, small sculpture, photography, painting and animation.
It is a quirk of all arts institutions that the people who work frenetically to create the polished, sophisticated exhibition experiences unveiled to the public are often unseen and transient, but they’re also the most intimately acquainted with the artworks and spaces.
A Forest of Hooks and Nails, a title which pays tribute to the constellation of hardware, nails and screws hiding behind artworks and peppering gallery ceilings, is unique in bringing these artists to the fore for a major exhibition which investigates Fremantle Arts Centre itself.
Some artists will shine a light on their favourite nooks, crannies and architectural features; others respond to past artworks they’ve had a hand in installing and to the materials and processes commonly used to construct, hang, display and light an exhibition.
Other will delve into the economy of work and labour in the arts industry while some investigate the building’s history and relationship with the Fremantle community.
Curator Tom Freeman conceived A Forest of Hooks and Nails during FAC’s 2020 shutdown as a means of supporting the team through a period of significant financial uncertainty.
“Each and every one of our install crew has a creative practice they’re deeply passionate about,” he said. “Conversations during tea breaks always circle back to our latest artistic pursuits and they reveal the depth of consideration the install staff give to each of the artworks and artists they work with here.”
“It’s inspiring and energising to have such close-contact experiences in the gallery and I’m excited to see how the artists channel that energy into their respective creative outputs to explore their relationship to the building itself, its history and FAC’s place in the community.”
“This Festival is an important moment to celebrate and to deepen understanding of all facets of creative work, especially in light of gallery shutdowns during 2020, which had serious impacts for casual arts workers – so many of whom are artists,” said Perth Festival Visual Arts Program Associate Gemma Weston.
“An exhibition is the tip of an iceberg of work that’s often invisible to the general public, and I think this project will be both a fascinating peek ‘behind the scenes’ and a very interesting look at the day to day realities of building a career as an artist.”
A Forest of Hooks and Nails features works by Dan Bourke, Phoebe Clarke, Angela Ferolla, Rob Kettels, Maxxi Minaxi May, Hugh Thomson, Phoebe Tran, Tyrown Waigana, Zev Weinstein and Hansdieter Zeh.
About the Works
Dan Bourke works as both an install and gallery officer at FAC and as such, he oversees the full run of an exhibition. He has created a video work which reflects on the data collected daily in galleries. His work provides a visualisation of the ways architecture and attendance statistics can influence the way exhibitions are presented.
Phoebe Clarke draws attention to particular architectural features at FAC and what they reveal of the building’s different uses over time. Selecting staircases, fireplaces and windows, Clarke’s textile interventions honour the simple and enduring silhouettes of the Gothic landmark. Gently moving, they are also a subtle reminder of the changes still to come.
Angela Ferolla is a long-term textiles tutor and install technician at FAC. Considering the humble work of clearing away the mess of process to present audiences with finished exhibitions and the historic parallels resulting from colonisation, Ferolla will screenprint the floor in one of FAC’s corridors with a carpet of plants which used to be endemic in Fremantle.
Rob Kettels’ works is in-part a response to a 2017 artwork by Andrew Sunley-Smith called Carbon Supremacy, which Kettels installed during his first stint at FAC. Sunley-Smith filled the gallery with charred objects in a critique of global consumption of fossil fuels. By filling the gallery with salt, Kettels’ focus is more local. The work reflects on the ways the WA minerals industry subjugates our landscape.
Maxxi Minaxi May takes one of the simplest tools in the install arsenal – the ruler – and aesthetically sizes up the gallery. Her small sculptures will be arranged in geometric patterns and lit to refract colour and shape around the galleries in a nod to the shifting nature of the building.
Hugh Thomson will construct large forms made of common install materials arranged in fastidious patterns. Visitors can create unique and random soundscapes by dropping ball bearings through the structures. Celebrating the moment when everything functions in harmony, Thomson allows both the outcome and the process to take pride of place.
Phoebe Tran blends her skills in textile manipulation and electronic music making, gathering moss and snippets of sound from around FAC to produce a multi-sensory installation which captures the peaceful moments before the action of install begins.
Tyrown Waigana will position paintings, sculpture and animations in inconsequential spaces and hidden nooks and crannies where private install moments take place, humorously reflecting on the stereotypical characters found in galleries.
Zev Weinstein will explore a family connection to Fremantle’s Rajneesh community, which was the focus of a 2017 FAC exhibition Orange: Sannyas in Fremantle. Weinstein combines photography, archive material and found objects in this personal installation.
Hansdieter Zeh’s largescale paper works, created using the process of decollage, will be pasted directly onto the gallery walls. Exploring the ways FAC’s architecture was originally designed to intimidate, Zeh proposes wiping the slate clean by making something from a space that’s been cleared.
*Perth curator and writer Melissa McGrath was commissioned to write about each artist’s works for the A Forest of Hooks and Nails exhibition catalogue. These excerpts have been adapted from her writing.
A Forest of Hooks and Nails is open daily from Thursday 4 February until Sunday 14 March and is presented in association with Perth Festival.
