‘My Unique Self’
Firstly
we would like to express our respect and acknowledge the traditional owners, the
Aboriginal custodians, of this land where this gathering is taking place.
Vivien Eime (installation, photos and drawings), A poet who went into theatre and then into performance installation work in artist run galleries; satellite bodies in the greater constellation. ‘In this strange adventure life, we are organic entities involved in energetic transactions within a world made up of 90% dark matter. It is only 10% of light that makes a difference.’ Studies in Performance, Philosophy of Science and a general staffer at Sydney University culminating in a presentation at Performance Space.
Zio Ledeux (sculpture-object) 'I am very domestic...My artistic interests are to make work in 3D be it costumes , sculpture or installation'. Zio is a master designer in elegant men’s wear.
Artists
responded to this callout:
“Challenge the conventional gender/race/skin colour limitations.
Show your unique gender that otherwise would have been the opposite one. Show both your genders as one or a third one. What if your skin is white but you are black, yellow or red? Show your unique skin colour and racial characteristics.
I show my unique self with a photo, painting, sculpture, sketch, painting, a musical piece, a poem, a performance, dance, with my own style of dressing. Whether it is a re-invention of myself or not, it is a representation or metaphor of my genuine self. A self portrait. All experiments welcome.”
“Challenge the conventional gender/race/skin colour limitations.
Show your unique gender that otherwise would have been the opposite one. Show both your genders as one or a third one. What if your skin is white but you are black, yellow or red? Show your unique skin colour and racial characteristics.
I show my unique self with a photo, painting, sculpture, sketch, painting, a musical piece, a poem, a performance, dance, with my own style of dressing. Whether it is a re-invention of myself or not, it is a representation or metaphor of my genuine self. A self portrait. All experiments welcome.”
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| Invitation images :Flora Mavrommati, Marinos Tattaris, Ben Lang, Blake Kendall, Cassandra Daw, Chris Bajic, Ameer Zomorroda, Maritza Noa -Cabrera, Mark Elliot,Anne Marie Kelly |
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| images:Philip Ricketson, Gina Roberts, Paola Talbert, Anna Mary Wheeler, Bob Newman, Flora Mavrommati |
A few words from
the curator Flora Mavrommati: A very anticipated show since most artworks are still in progress.
In the majority, the artists’ idea of self,
is not separated from the body and the natural/ social environment. Main
concerns are the liberation from social stereotypes of body/gender/skin color
limitations, the need to respect nature and unite with the individual within, especially
in difficult personal times. People’s blurred identity is the one fixed by just
seeing one’s skin colour or gender. Ultimately, what really counts is that every
individual pays respect for the earth and appreciates the fact of being
alive.
While the unique self is part and in unity
with the world, is seen in relation with our body as part of nature. The self transforms
into a new, third gender, or connects with
the universe, the natural laws and the environment, the land, the Goddess, the spirit,
plants and animals and eventually with the creativity within.
You can find more information about
the artists and artworks and purchase the catalogue for ‘My Unique Self’ online
during or after the completion of the exhibition: http://hermaphroditicreforming.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/my-unique-self-group-show.html
"My Unique Self" , book
artists in alphabetical order: ADAM HILL AKA BLAK DOUGLAS, ANIMALS’ RIGHT TO DANCE, ANNA MARY
WHEELER, ANNE MARIE KELLY, BEN LANG, BLAKE PAUL KENDALL AKA
BLAKE-PAUL-BUDDHA, BOB NEWMAN, CAMILLA LAWSON,
CASSANDRA DAW, CHRIS BAJIC, DANIEL CLEGHORN,
D’ARCY O’CONNOR, DAVIDA ANNE BACHE, ESTHER LOZANO, FLORA MAVROMMATI,
GEOFFREY GOODES, GEORGE ONISIFOROU, GINA ROBERTS, KON STRAFIOTIS, LOU STEER, MARINOS
TATTARIS, MARITZA NOA-CABRERA, MARK ELLIOT, MARTIN CHARLES, NICOLE EGGERS, NIKOLA KNEZEVIC, PAOLA TALBERT,
PHILIP RICKETSON,PRINCE EMERALD AYDIN
AKA AMEER ZOMORRODA, SIMON PEART, TREVOR BROWN, TULA TZORAS, VASILIS
MAVROMMATIS, VIVIEN EIME, ZIO LEDEUX
Adam Hill aka Blak Douglas (painting) :
..a non-
stereotypical appearing person identifies themselves as being Aboriginal (‘what
percentage of Aboriginal are you?’ ‘but you don’t look Aboriginal’). ....try
this next time - ‘well I’m honoured to meet a descendant of a peoples whom hold
a deep seeded spirituality to the very earth I’m standing upon right this very
moment’. He has won several awards and his latest solo exhibitions were in 2013
Smellin’ it like it is, Tandanya Adelaide,2012 ONEinFOUR (Dec) Damien Minton
Gallery, NSW,2010 Not a proper Aborigine, ‘10yr Survey’ (Sept) Mosman Art
Gallery NSW, Caste-ing Call, Harrison Galleries, Paddington (July) NSW, I’m not
racist but, Arc One Gallery- Melbourne (March) VIC
Animals’ Right To Dance (Cyprus, music and lyrics) : ‘the song expresses my feelings about the way we
treat our planet. How this affects my life and how I feel about others who
destroy the earth without guilt.’ I have a youtube channel,check my music. A kindergarten
teacher, children’s parties, puppet theatre, shadow theatre and backlight
theatre.
Anna Mary Wheeler (painting), ‘by linking the cow with
a human image I am telling my story.I love animals and the cow represents
something fun and playful.’ Bachelor of Fine Arts National Art
School. Multiple finalist in the Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship &
Mosman Art Prize
Anne Marie Kelly -England (painting), ‘expresses love, beauty and
femininity inspired in Cyprus, Aphrodite`s Island, “The Island of Love”,
teeming with ancient artefacts and symbols of fertility’. She
has exhibited frequently in both mixed and solo exhibitions, and her paintings
exist in many private collections in the UK, Europe, America, the Middle East
and Australia.
Ben Lang (video, https://cargocollective.com/benlang, https://vimeo.com/lenbang ), He seeks correlations
in structures that perpetuate across scales and contexts, embracing nature as
imparting metaphorical and spiritual guidance. 2013 Zelda Stedman Young
Student Scholarship Award.2011 University of Sydney Academic Merit Prize. Bachelor
of Visual Arts Honours (First Class), Sydney College of Arts, University of
Sydney
Blake Paul Kendall aka Blake Paul buddha (collage, www.blakepaulkendall.com)
: ‘an erotic binary of form...The celebration of the sexualized conceptions of
self, where a genderless attraction is caught in the crowds of the face(less)s. I
am a gender-nomad, climbing amongst Himalaya steps, desert sands and jungle-thicket...’
Camilla Lawson (sculpture , www.camillalawson.com.au , www.messwithit.com.au , ) ‘the work was created in Darwin when a I became a mother. It reflects a crisis of
identity and my struggle to allow a new ''self" to emerge in the face of
crushing social mores of what a ''mother'' should be and the domesticity that
she inhabits.’ From
a career in genetic research to art, studying visual arts at Charles Darwin
University. Her most recent
art ventures are decorations of festivals and music stages and now Camilla runs
a collective of artist studios in Marrickville.
Cassandra Daw (sculpture, https://cassandradaw.see.me/ )The artwork of Cassandra Daw
explores prehistoric imagery, extinct Australian megafauna and mythological
images. Conceptually the work explores the existential nature of bones, how
they can reference the absent body and act as a symbolic referential of life,
death and the extinction cycle. She holds a doctorate in Fine Arts , SCA
Chris Bajic (sculpture,performance- photography), His work is from a
performance, genderless and transformation into nature. Exhibits in Sydney
since 1998.Bachelor of Visual Arts (Hons), Master of Studio Art, Sydney College
of the Arts,Major: Sculpture/Performance/Installation
Daniel Cleghorn -Canada (video), ‘What
creates an individual is beyond genetics and gender, but one’s experiences. Mouths subconsciously
react to the memory, giving indications of the feeling of the time. Though the
stories cannot be heard they can be understood through these abstract gestures.’He
has won several awards. 2014 Bachelor of Visual Arts
(exchange program) Sydney College of Arts, Sydney, Australia,2013/14 Bachelor
of Fine Arts, Sculpture (Third year) Alberta
D’ Arcy O’Connor (photo).Painter, poet, rapper. City
Desert Black White Chaos Order Fella.
New York City to Outback New South Wales.He invites us to close our
eyes... ‘Where the old story can never be told. ....To understand the
concept of gravity one only would have to perceive the motion of Mars and the
Morning Star. Where there is no graviton
there is magnetism..... Dreamtime.’
Davida Bache_England (painting,audience participation and
performance art). ‘We are a part of this universe and the landscape.. People
are always looking down into their phones as they walk..the work invites us to
look this way at the universe and
connect in a different way. 2003-2012 Studied Bachelor of Visual
Arts Specialisation Painting and Drawing.
Esther Lozano (photography, www.estherlozano.net ). The work is about the creativity of an artist in
times of personal turbulence. Photojournalism, documentaries. Her
work as a photographer has been developed in the freelance photo journalism
field, shooting for a range of magazines, newspapers and websites. Member of
collective SOMA, solo and collective exhibitions across Spain. A series of her
works is about the female body in modern society.
Flora Mavrommati (photography, www.floramavrommati.com, http://hermaphroditicreforming.blogspot.com.au/)‘A photographic collage
of Flora Cypris and flora Australis. The flora take over her body turning her
into an endemic species that is both male and female in a ritual of
transformation and union with Earth.’ This work is about place and belonging. Flora
Mavrommati was born in Cyprus. In 1974, her family forcibly became refugees and
internal migrants in their own country. Flora is a permanent resident of planet
Earth. She uses universal symbols, Aphrodite’s being the most prominent.
She is the curator of the show ‘My unique self’. Individual shows in
Sydney and Cyprus: ‘Dualities’-2009, ‘Biomorphy’-2012, ‘Bio-Anthropomorphic
Symmetries’-2012. Studies :MA of Fine Arts, MA Contemporary Art for Educators
(Distinction) at SCA, University of Sydney. Residency at Gernot Bubenik's
studio, Berlin,2008, excavations at the Sanctuary of Aphrodite 2012.
Geoffrey Goodes, ‘a wry observation on
self-identity’. Life drawer, has participated in many group shows, upcoming
solo show 23rd May 2014< Newsagency Gallery.
George Onisiforou (poetry, www.instagram.com/onisiforou ), ‘The writer is
undergoing a transformation — from male to female, from human to deity, from
mortal to eternal — to find his 'unique' self. The transformation begins
through a search , then fatalism, rebirth, and finally the realisation of the
other self.’
Gina Roberts (painting) “I am what I eat.” ‘This is my
daily ritual that I perform which involves preparing a mix of seeds and nuts
and various fruits. It is a ritual I usually perform alone. There have been
times when I have shared this ritual. It is something that has developed and
evolved over the course of my life….influenced by study of Aboriginal,Bush
Tucker art’. Studies in Sculpture, Performance and Installation, painting,
printmaking, photography, film and sound at Sydney College of The Arts, international
traditional dance studies, Butoh, Japan,as part of Katsura Kan’s company
Saltimbanque. Flamenco dancing and singing. Gina has just completed her
Graduate Diploma in Education.
Kon Strafiotis (painting) MA
Fine Art s COFA,Solo show at ‘Drawing Room ‘2013, various group shows. Identification with comic characters from Tin
Tin,a return to childhood.
Lou Steer (poetry-performance, painting), www.futuresoftware.com.au/lou/), Lou Steer is a
multidisciplinary conceptual artist – painter, sculptor, poet. She is also a
founding director of ESP Gallery in Marrickville. Her artwork is known for
bold, minimal distorted geometric forms and witty word play.
Marinos Tattaris -Cyprus (video), ‘filmmaker and digital
artist born and raised in Cyprus. I studied film and worked for a period of time
in New York, Athens Greece.’ His video work is a comment about the many selves
we have nowadays when we appear in the media.
Maritza Noa –Cabrera - Peru (costume, photography, dance
performance). This work is about my exploration of my indigenous
Peruvian ancestry and how living away
from my native land has inspired and made me more aware and proud of who I
really am. BVA, Honours, Sydney College
of the Arts, Bachelor of Visual Arts,
Sydney College of the Arts, Advanced Diploma of Fine Arts, Meadowbank,TAFE,
Sydney
Mark Elliot-New
Zealand (glass, performance and improvisation , markeliottglass.com) ...my ‘older
self is a light child spirit, beyond identity, beyond gender, beyond age,
perhaps even beyond time.’ ‘my
self is a proud male inheritor of at least 3.6 billion years of life history on
planet Earth.’
Martin Charles (Medius Sociopathis Orstrarrlyan Dominatus Insanitas)
Nicole Eggers (painting/drawing) Identity embedded by the artists
experience of ‘blossoming’ when
moving from Germany to
Australia during her childhood and her
love for her dog transform her into a
half human half plant/animal. Masters of
Fine Arts degree in Printmaking,College of Fine Arts, U.N.S.W.Bachelor of Fine
Arts, Post Technician in Printmaking, Diploma of Fine Arts, National Art School
Nikola Knezevic –Serbia. Outsider artist from
Belgrade. His work is ‘an allegory of the successful human struggle. Struggle
to become human. Turning undead human back into an
ideal. Going through a wall evokes violent, yet comical images. ... ‘ Solo shows :2012 Damien Minton,2009 Bon Marche
Studio
Paola Talbert (sculpture,prints, www.paolatalbert.com ), ...’Focuses on the human body interacting with the
‘found’ plastic materials..A quest to highlight the need to draw attention to
the calamity of pollution in our global ocean environments, there are four
ocean gyres in the world ‘found’ objects from walks along the Cooks River and
mostly organic plant litter from public walkways... journeys and observations
the artist makes daily- the patterns that are created by the weather and the
urban environment.’ Most recent solo 2014 Pelagos (Open Sea) was held at
Platform 72. Private and public collections which include Broken
Hill Art Gallery, Manly Art Gallery and Museum, State Library of NSW. She lectures
photography at University of Sydney.
Philip Ricketson (song writing, performance, painting), gender
identity and animal transformation. Philip will perform during the opening
night.
Prince Aydin Emerarl aka Ameer Zomorroda (photography).. ‘dark and personal
themes reflecting and commenting on gender, social, political and
family issues, yet
also are cleverly camouflaged by punchy lines, garish icons, and
references to art and
popular culture.’ Bachelor of Visual Arts (w/ honours, First Class), Sydney College of the Arts’
popular culture.’ Bachelor of Visual Arts (w/ honours, First Class), Sydney College of the Arts’
Simon Peart (sculpture).Performer, musician, sculptor. He sculpts
an inter wining shape on a wood from a laurel tree, an invasive plant in
Australia. The work is a metaphor for the artist and his Identity as a European
in Australia. I like to work with materials that slowly reveal their form
through sustained physical processes. I enjoy the way physical activity stills
and occupies the mind allowing imagination to play. Studies in National Art
School
Trevor Brown (A temporal and
semi-performative work for objects and video.)’ Inspired by the work of
Scottish botanist Robert Brown , whose work reveal naturally occurring random
vectors later called Brownian Motion , used by Einstein and others to explain
stochastic processes.' Associate Lecturer
Performance Studies School of Communication RMIT DJ and presenter on Eastside
Radio 89.7fm,Mondays 9.30-11
Tula Tzoras (video, http://www.tulatzoras.com/) writer of book The Truth
About Acting . ‘Touch ups with Tula’ is
Tula's alter ego, superficial, OTT and politically incorrect. Tula accosts
celebs with her stylists to the stars and touches them up finding out the nitty
gritty. Tula Tzoras is an Actor, Film Maker, Author, Speaker with many credits
to her name.
Vasilis Mavrommatis-Cyprus (music and lyrics, https://soundcloud.com/vasilis-mavrommatis ) writes about the
overcoming of one state to the new more bright side of self.
Vivien Eime (installation, photos and drawings), A poet who went into theatre and then into performance installation work in artist run galleries; satellite bodies in the greater constellation. ‘In this strange adventure life, we are organic entities involved in energetic transactions within a world made up of 90% dark matter. It is only 10% of light that makes a difference.’ Studies in Performance, Philosophy of Science and a general staffer at Sydney University culminating in a presentation at Performance Space.
Zio Ledeux (sculpture-object) 'I am very domestic...My artistic interests are to make work in 3D be it costumes , sculpture or installation'. Zio is a master designer in elegant men’s wear.
GALLERY:Alpha
House Gallery @ Alpha House Artist Cooperative
– 226 Union St.,Newtown, just
off King Street South.
Opening:
Thursday 22nd May 2014, 6-9pm
Closing: Saturday 31st May 2014, 6-9pm
GALLERY
HOURS: Frid. 23rd May 4-8pm, Sat. 24th May 12-6pm,
Wed. +Thurs.28th-29th May 2-5pm, Frid.30th May
4-8pm, Sat.31st 12-9pm
