Traveling to the Jamison Valley in the new Scenic Railway with it’s fifty two degree incline was a bit of a hoot, took me back to my roller coaster days. Well not really but it was comfortable and a wonderful novel way to travel down the side of a mountain.
It was the opening of the Sculpture at Scenic World and a couple of my friends were exhibiting and I’d never been to Scenic World before except for the meet and greet the Artist’s dinner in April. So in total I have been there three times in one year. The opening with lashings of refreshments was a little warmer than we had anticipated, clearly we thought the weather was going to be a little more brisk and had rugged up too much. We rsvp’d for five pm to catch the last train to the valley floor and see the exhibit, sadly the light changed too quickly and my camera is not made for night time pictures.
Made a date with a friend to return before the closing date and managed to get some shots and footage, we had hoped that turning up early we may avoid the tourists, school excursions or families with small children but sadly no, which made filming a little difficult and missed taking some footage.
There are thirty five finalists in this exhibition and I think I may have missed some, but at the same time saw some great work and can only guess in awe how they were brought down the mountain.
The Winner Daniel Kojta with his ‘Reflect Phi (a moment)’ highly polished stainless steel played whimsical with the sloping location where this work was placed, the birds and wildlife took a fancy to it and interacted to the delight of the onlookers.
‘Resting Place’ knitted tinned and enamelled copper wire, stainless steel cable by Greer Taylor was a delight to view from below, a hanging enclosed tightly knit cage of wonder, just drifting in the the canopy minding it’s own business.
‘Ex/Enclosure’ moving image installation by Sarah Breen Lovett, one of my favourites was located inside the Miner’s Hut and offered a historical reference of a time gone by before Scenic World came to be. This work was thought provoking but at the same time quite relaxing with it’s sound and light projection. Sarah has the wonderful ability to extract ethereal remnants from the past and interweave them into the present.
‘Tiga Tiga’ vinyl inflatable sculptures and block digital printing by Dr Lisa Anderson is my other favourites, I love how this wonderful woman thinks as this work is perfectly fitting for this location, it floats between the trees and although it is a quiet work it’s very heart beats loudly as the legacy of the Thylacine is once again bought back to life. Extinction is a cruel word, it’s also a word that the majority of people take for granted that it wont happen, I feel with this work that Lisa is trying to remind us to not push, to take some time to think about what we are doing to our environment, to realize that our native flora and fauna are dangerously close to that very word and we all need to take a step back and reconsider our actions. Before the meet and greet in April I filmed Lisa talking about her work so make sure you watch that video too.
‘Apparition’ ply, mirror perspex, steel, exterior acrylic by Dale Miles is a window to the soul of the mountain hovering in one spot for you to catch it’s reflection. ‘The Brides’ recycled plastic bags, nylon fabric, wire, thread by The Winged Collective, like three brides gliding down through the trees, their dresses wafting in the breeze waiting patiently for their betrothed.
Christmas came early with these wonderful over sized Christmas decorations ‘Elimatta’ sealed glass vessels by Ann Russell dangling from a small tree, each telling a story of their own little worlds. ‘Serosa’ copper pipes by Darragh O’Calloghan blends in beautifully with the surrounding vines and tree scape, it just fitted perfectly.
At first we thought it was just found chains but on closer inspection discovered these ‘Left Behind’ by Penny Philpott were actually all ceramic, brilliant and well made.
Hoped on the Scenic Cableway and watched slowly as we climbed higher and higher back up to the top of the mountain beneath us disappear until next time.
Fleur MacDonald
24th April - 19th May 2013
http://www.scenicworld.com.au/sculpture
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