Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley
Gallery hours Mon – Fri, 11am – 5pm, and every Sunday, 1 – 5pm
Free Admission
T 9266 4155
Warship: The Glorious Decline of the Officers’ Library
Until 10 March 2019
To mark the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day 1918, the John Curtin Gallery presents Warship, a large-scale 14 metre long installation by acclaimed WA artist and Curtin Alumna, Jo Darbyshire. The installation, in the shape of the AE1 - the first Australian Submarine which was built in 1914 - is constructed from over 250 book covers recovered from a disbanded library.
The installation is about memory, the act of forgetting and remembering, but it also explores the aesthetics and provenance of the book covers, highlighting the absorbing titles and the texture and colours of the linen cloth, that speak so resonantly of the 1930s, 40s and 50s. The artist draws attention to the books as loaded objects: being both visually and historically intriguing, and explores contemporary connections to the experience of being human and our tendency to forget.
The installation will be shown alongside historical material concerning the AE1 submarine which was sunk off New Guinea in 1914 while on patrol with 35 crew after only 7 months service. It was rediscovered in 2017 and the Curtin HIVE is currently working on a 3D reconstruction of the wreck site.
Refuge
12 February – 18 April 2019
Opening event 11 February, 6.30pm – 8.30pm
This year’s Perth Festival exhibition, Refuge features works by Australian-born, Paris-based artist Angelica Mesiti and South African artist Candice Breitz, two of the world’s leading audio-visual artists who give voice to the world’s refugees and immigrants in emotionally-charged film-based installations. Both artists present the complex experiences of their subjects through music, performance and the spoken word, utilising the cinematic medium to explore cultural diversity and displacement.
Breitz challenges audiences not to ignore the message, deploying a provocative juxtaposition of storytellers – influential Hollywood stars Alec Baldwin and Julianne Moore with six real-life refugees. Mesiti in turn courts her audience through a compelling combination of joyful music and dance while firmly establishing an underlying narrative about displacement and the power of community.
Refuge will be accompanied by a comprehensive public program presented in partnership with the Curtin Centre for Human Rights Education and the Museum of Freedom and Tolerance WA.
Angelica Mesiti and Candice Breitz are represented by Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne.
Angelica Mesiti, Mother Tongue, 2017, two-channel High Definition colour video installation and surround sound, 17:54 minutes, courtesy of the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery
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