Three exhibitions will open at the Riddoch Art Gallery on Friday 2 November 2018 at 6:00pm.
In Discovering the Portrait, work selected from the Riddoch Art Gallery’s collection on display in the Margaret Scott Gallery, will reveal portraiture as an innovative and shape-shifting genre.
“We have one of the most significant regional art collections in the state including work from some notable local artists like Cathleen Edkins and Iris Frame, to world-recognised Australian artists Charles Blackman and John Olsen, all of whom you’ll be able to see in our latest exhibition Discovering the Portrait,” curator and City of Mount Gambier Arts and Culture Development Officer Serena Wong said.
“Some of the works, which span from the late 1800s to the early 2000s, are really going to make people question ‘what is a portrait?’ and I’m really excited for these conversations.”
Afresh will include a brand-new site-specific installation by Mount Gambier born artist Jane Skeer and will take over the Cathleen Edkins Gallery until November 25 2018. Working predominantly in sculpture and installation, the artist uses repetition to draw out unexpected qualities in discarded objects.
“In this body of work there is a real emphasis on reusing discarded material which is such a topical subject with our increased awareness around the importance of recycling,” Ms Wong said.
The exhibition Contestable Bodies – Alternate Anatomical Architectures by legendary Australian performance artist Stelarc will feature in the main gallery. It provides insight into what it means to be human in the age of body hacking, gene mapping, prosthetic augmentation, organ swapping, face transplants and synthetic skin.
“Stelarc provides us with a deeper understanding of the profound limitations of the human body and the possibility of alternate anatomical architectures,” Riddoch Art Gallery Director Dr Melentie Pandilovski said.
“Stelarc is famous for his performances with a third hand, the third ear, a virtual arm, a virtual body and a stomach sculpture. The public will be able to see many of these projects including his ‘Ear on Arm’ project, in which a biocompatible scaffold was surgically inserted into his left forearm in 2006, creating the shape of an ear.”
Stelarc will also hold a public talk on Saturday 3 November 2018 at 12:30pm in the Dress Circle.
Discovering the Portrait and Contestable Bodies – Alternate Anatomical Architectures will be on show at the Riddoch Art Gallery until 27 January 2019.
Media contact: City of Mount Gambier Media and Communications Coordinator Sharny McLean on 8721 2401 or smclean@mountgambier.sa.gov.au
Content authorised by City of Mount Gambier CEO Mark McShane, 10 Watson Terrace, Mount Gambier SA.
