MICHELLE CAWTHORN & PETER SHARP
WITH M.P. HOPKINS, NICOLA MORTON & GHOST HOBO
’THIS IS NOT A SOLO SHOW ’
30 JUNE – 1 AUGUST, 2016
This is not a solo show, 2016, Installation shot. Photography by Document Photography.
ID: There are three brown landscape framed images on a white wall. They each have a different stage of two people wearing black, moving a white sheet together. In the middle forefront there is a pieces of chocolate cake with pink frosting, sitting on a white cake stand on top of a wooden plinth.
EXHIBITION STATEMENT
It’s Not A Solo Show was conceived out of the desire to explore the dichotomy of our respective practices. As a couple, we understand the intentions behind the work the other does, but we do not inhabit each other’s creative space.
Our individual practices are dissimilar in form, material and content but we live together as a creative couple.
This is not a solo show, 2016, Installation shot. Photography by Document Photography.
ID: On the left there is a sheer black fabric suspended off the white wall, with a satin black pillow sitting on a wooden plinth. Toward the right there is an abstracted cloud like quilt, with a red satin top and pink and cream blobs cascading down it, with a black dot on the left of it. Coming out of it is a grey pole wrapped in rope and propped up on a dark wooden stand. On the far right there is a television with ocean waves playing on it.
Sharp’s practice expresses an external view. Derived from a his lifelong interest in the natural world, his drawings, paintings and sculpture present as a poetic evocation of things we often overlook in the landscape like rocks, leaves and webs. Rather than representing the landscape as a whole, Sharp’s fascination with the minutiae offers an opportunity for an intimate relationship with our natural world.
This is not a solo show, 2016, Installation shot. Photography by Document Photography.
ID: Along the wall, there is a rusted shovel propped up against the wall. There is a string of red rope that has be stretched across the span of the wall and holding objects sturdy off it. From the left, there is a stack of wood with the red string attached to the top of it, with points going up to the ceiling. Suspended in the middle of the space is a fluffy brown and white pillow, held in space by the red string. Leaning up against the wall on the right is a thin green plush object, that makes almost a right-angle but curved.
In contrast, Cawthorn’s practice represented an internal view. Memories and their associations inform her visual practice and are often triggered by the artefacts of her experiences such as a song, a scent or a childhood toy. These resultant juxtapositions were expressed as collages, works on paper and sculpture.
This is not a solo show, 2016, Installation shot. Photography by Document Photography.
ID: On the back wall, there is a large patterned fabric piece, with the top a red satin colour with pearls placed evenly along it. It is separated with a black dot, and pink and white abstract hanging pieces cascading down from it. Forming out of the fabric is a long piece of white painted wood, sitting on a concrete stone.
Sharp’s sculptures were made from found timbers and were hand hewn. He does not deny the materiality of the wood; rather this becomes the locus of his aesthetic response. The surfaces reveal his process; chainsaw and drill marks are left as they are made, acrylic washes accentuate the trace. Cawthorn’s works, on the other hand, were made from plywood, bed sheets and clothes of family members and close friends. The tactile and familiar nature of the materials she employs triggered associations with childhood play equipment and cubby houses.
This is not a solo show, 2016, Installation shot. Photography by Document Photography.
ID: There is a fluffy brown and white pillow being suspended by red string that is attached as a horizontal zig-zag pattern on the wall. Leaning up against the side of the wall on the right is a thin green plush object, that makes almost a right-angle but curved. Suspended in the middle of the space is a cement block, hanging over a wooden plinth with a satin pillow sitting on it, with a sheer mesh fabric behind coming out of the wall.