Blacktown City Art Collection 22 February – 26 May 2018
Ernest Aaron Brook Andrew Linda Brescia Alexandra Byrne Kristone Capistrano Negin Chahoud Melissa Chaney Krisjoe Fuentes Jane Giblin Jody Graham
Naomi Grant Amala Groom Nerissa Lea Rebecca Kutnjak Carmel Mackie Tess Mehonoshen Steven Russell Kristine Stewart Marikit Santiago Rokeya Sultana
Recent Acquisitions
Kevin Treloar Toni Warburton Paul Westgate Jason Wing Lisa Woolfe
ERNEST AARON, Untitled, 2011 Felt pen and ink on paper, 112 x 77 cm Untitled depicts a crowd of people from an aerial perspective and conveys visual information through a pattern of black and white interlocking shapes. Close-up the image’s abstract qualities are emphasised and the subject only becomes apparent from afar.
BROOK ANDREW, Travelling Colony, 2012 Re-painted caravan, one of six in a series, 270 x 420 x 220 cm Travelling Colony, a dazzling hand-painted caravan sitting in the Blacktown Arts Centre car park, is inspired by the artist’s Wiradjuri heritage, popular culture and the circus. It is a multi-faceted artwork that compels audiences to see issues of race, consumerism and history in different ways.
LINDA BRESCIA, Sophia, 2015 Acrylic on canvas, 76 x 76 cm Sophia is a portrait based on studio photographs of the subject. The artist arranges paint skins from her palette over facial features and then repaints the composition. The artwork refers to the masks we wear and the personas we assume.
ALEXANDRA BYRNE, Lucas Road at night (outside my place), 2015 Charcoal, graphite and pastel on paper, 31 x 31 cm Lucas Road at night (outside my place) was created during an artist residency t Blacktown Arts Centre in 2015. It portrays the poignant intimacy of our collectively shared experience of driving home at the end of the day. An activity that is quietly breathtaking for all that it is mundane.
KRISTONE CAPISTRANO, Breathe, 2017 Charcoal, scratching and engraving on paper, 131 x 128 cm After spending weeks trying to select a portrait subject, the artist selected a video clip of a friend’s baby on Instagram, the moment a yawn gave way to a self-satisfied smile of acceptance that took his breath away. The artwork captures the vulnerability, tenderness and aliveness of a young life.
NEGIN CHAHOUD, I Try Not To Swear, 2015 Etching on paper, 31 x 25.5 cm The powerful image of the girl symbolises the Iranian revolution and the effects on its people. The calligraphy comes from the artist’s grandmother’s eulogy, and are deconstructed words and symbols of poems by Rumi and Allma Iqbal, significant poets to the artist’s historical and political heritage.
MELISSA CHANEY, Irrational Logic, 2016 Screenprint and mixed media on paper, 60 x 150 x 40 cm Irrational Logic is a multipage artist’s collage book that explores notions of authenticity within the context of communication. The artist presents multiple pages and interpretations of personal stories. Prints are layered and juxtaposed to create new readings of the work.
KRISJOE FUERTES, Paco Wolfe, 2014 Mild steel, 175 x 85 x 46 cm Paco Wolfe is the alias of a Western Sydney based musician and a close friend of the artist, who created the sculpture to honour his friendship and the life he cultivated in Australia. The combination of steel and the entanglement of small human figures represent the strength of the bonds between the friends.
JANE GIBLIN, Lilu Stands to Izzie, 2016 Ink and pigment on unicartridge paper, 122 x 86 cm Lilu Stands to Izzie depicts the artist’s son’s dog, Lilu, and her model, Izzie, posing in a colonial garden, in Kempton, north of Hobart, Tasmania. The artwork refers to the Black War and the use of roo-hounds (a mixture of stag and greyhound), favoured for their superior chasing down of kangaroos by early farmers, and later of Aboriginal Tasmanians.
JODY GRAHAM, Sentinel, 2014 Charcoal and pastel on paper, 137 x 125 cm Sentinel is part of a series of artworks by Graham that dramatically portray the built environment in monochrome. These large, abstracted drawings explore the darker and starker sides of Sydney’s streets and buildings through a range of mark-making in charcoal and pastel.
NAOMI GRANT, Dad’s Country, 2017 Acrylic and collage on canvas, 100 x 140 cm Dad’s Country is an abstract, aerial interpretation of the landscape surrounding the township of Cowra in NSW, in Wiradjuri country where the artist’s father was born. Acrylic paint and layers of tissue paper gives the surface a raised, textural quality.
AMALA GROOM, Read Before Consuming, 2016 Epson pigment print on paper, 98.1 x 71.4 cm Read Before Consuming refers to the commodification of Aboriginal affairs, repurposing and repackaging indigenous political capital into a palatable, disposable drink. The artist has quantified the total expenditure for the Recognise campaign and the proposed Referendum, including funds, which have been exhausted, budgeted or earmarked.
REBECCA KUTNJAK, Night Light, 2016 Solar etching on paper, 40 x 50 cm Night Light is a monochrome, abstract print that has been exposed to solar light. The artwork combines alternative photography and printmaking into a hybrid form of photomedia.
NERISSA LEA, The Sane Ones, 2016 Oil on board, 25.5 x 25.5 cm The Sane Ones is about difference, and how myriads of difference within the world make for a saner world. Different stories, songs, images and histories represent a more robust human experience that can be shared and respected.
CARMEL MACKIE, Gecko, 2016 Monoprint and chine-colle of tea bags, 55 x 45 cm Gecko is part of a mixed-media series by the artist that includes birds, lizards, and frogs; which are all essential to the forest eco system. As the gecko is believed to be lucky, we generally accept them crawling up walls in our homes.
TESS MEHONOSHEN, Measuring Loss, 2017 Cement, Cootharaba clay, iron oxide and fabric, 15 x 70 x 70 cm Measuring Loss is about the dislocation and grief surrounding the impending loss of the artist’s family property where the red clay is sourced. The cement conceals and black iron oxide represents the ongoing processes of change and adaption.
STEVEN RUSSELL & KRISTINE STEWART, Eel Traps, 2015 Lomandra grass, Running postman vine, red hot poker plant, 35 x 30 x 160 cm
Prior to colonisation, a creek ran through the site of the Blacktown Native Institution, which was central to Darug life, trade and ceremony, as well as being home to eels. By gifting the new traps to the Darug people of Blacktown, the artists signal a renewed connection and solidarity between continuous cultures, and honour the custodianship of the site.
MARIKIT SANTIAGO, Ang Pambansang Kamao, 2015 Oil and acrylic on canvas, 90 x 60 cm Ang Pambansang Kamao (The Nation’s Fist) features dual portraits of Filipino figure Manny Pacquiao, as world champion boxer and as national congressman . The artwork reflects the artist’s autobiographical experiences of being Filipino-Australian, of having two different personas and expressing both acceptance and rejection simultaneously.
ROKEYA SULTANA, Bon Debi (Forest Goddess I and II), 2015 Softground etching with aquatint on paper, each 50 x 34.5 cm The Bon Debi artworks are autobiographical, reflecting the artist’s family’s inter-generational trauma and migration, and told through the symbolism of landscape, animals and dreams. The two images contrast the differences in the fauna and flora of Australia and her home country of Bangladesh.
KEVIN TRELOAR, Souths Aboriginal Symbols, 2014 Acrylic on canvas, 94.5 x 94.5 cm Souths Aboriginal Symbols tells the story of the South Sydney Rabbitohs N.R.L. Club since it began in 1908, through using traditional Aboriginal symbolism. The artwork is intended to be educational, humorous and therapeutic in equal measure, and includes an interpretation panel.
TONI WARBURTON, RISK: PENDULUM ACTIONS (arc 3/2015), 2015 Performance archive installation, six fired clay forms, various dimensions Thrown clay forms collide through a pendulum action and the artist’s body and create new forms that are later fired by the artist. Video documentation of the experimental process completes the installation, exploring themes of impact and duality.
PAUL WESTGATE, LitTrulyUnique, 2017 Chalk, acrylic and acrylic aerosol on board, 360 x 480 cm For the artist, living between inner and Western Sydney since his birth in 1970, the word is of single importance. LitTrulyUnique is homage, using words to their expressive limit, to the Hip-Hop artists of Western Sydney, past and present.
JASON WING, Know Your Place, 2017 Acrylic paint on marine plywood, 172 x 239 cm Know Your Place hangs on the perimeter fence of the Blacktown Arts Centre car park and includes painted motifs on the ground. The artwork refers to Black(s)town, the original name for the city, as a landmark in the history of cross-cultural engagement in Australia, in particular the Blacktown Native Institution site and its oppression of indigenous language.
LISA WOOLFE, Becoming Raven, In Flight, 2015 Charcoal on Fabriano paper, 150 x 150 cm Becoming Raven, In Flight is part of a series of multimedia works based on observations of the artist’s surroundings in the Manly Dam area, including the local raven population. The drawing examines the dynamics of flight with a desire to bring static images to life.
Recent Acquisitions
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The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre is an initiative of Blacktown City Council and is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.