13 to 23 November @ Spectrum Project Space ·
Presented by Deborah Worthy-Collins & Sharon Callow ·

Two exhibitions by the recipients of the School of Arts and Humanities, Painting Residency 2018 will open at Spectrum Project Space with a double opening on Wednesday, 13 November. The artists Deborah Worthy-Collins and Sharon Callow have each completed a semester long tenure in the Painting Studios at Edith Cowan University, Mount Lawley. The residency program is now in it’s second year, the aim of which is to promote the contemporary practice of painting within an academic institution.

Born from Dust – Deborah Worthy-Collins

In Born from Dust, Deborah Worthy-Collins explores the intersection between life, death, sex and human connection to nature. Through multidisciplinary studio processes, Deborah explores her relationship with these themes as an artist, woman and mother. Her use of cloth, stitching and the process of making references both the historical domestic setting in which birth and death occurred and the intimate connection between these materials and the body. Given the often confronting nature of such taboo subjects, Deborah attempts to bring a quiet and comforting sensibility to her work.

Deborah’s body of work is influenced by the birth, sex and death positive movements. As well as contributing to the broader dialogue occurring within these movements, Deborah aims to initiate conversations about difficult subjects. She hopes that her works will prompt viewers to contemplate their own place within these natural processes, however even more ambitiously she would like to start conversations at the community level to provide opportunities for people to engage with the human life cycle in a more meaningful way.

Insomnia – Sharon Callow

In Insomnia, Sharon seeks to create quiet, contemplative spaces. Begun as a response to insomnia, these are intended to offer a respite from the informational overload and multiple responsibilities entailed in attempting to lead an ethically, socially, politically and environmentally aware existence.
For the insomniac, the craving for sleep is a kind of madness. Sleep becomes an elusive state of nothingness. It holds the promise of rest, comfort, and release from the need to keep abreast of information and obligations from the waking hours: individual and collective responsibilities, the needs of others, consumer choices, and the dilemmas of decision-making.

In this onslaught of incursions, disengagement and solitude seem attractive. Yet retreat is a seductive illusion. Sharon’s works explore the tensions of managing in the individual worlds of our making: balancing the conflicting desires of the self to strengthen, not diminish, one’s selfhood.

Opening event:

Born from Dust and Insomnia will be officially opened by artist and lecturer, Gregory Pryor
Date: Wednesday, 13 November
Time: 6.00pm – 8.00pm
Venue: Spectrum Project Space, ECU Mount Lawley Campus, Building 3, Room 3.191

Artist talk:

Date: Saturday, 17 November
Time: 2.00 – 3.00pm
Venue: Spectrum Project Space, ECU Mount Lawley Campus, Building 3, Room 3.191

Open hours:

Tuesday to Friday 10.00am – 5.00pm
Saturdays 12.00pm – 5.00pm

More info:
W:  www.ecu.edu.au/schools/arts-and-humanities/spectrum-project-space/overview
E:  spectrum@ecu.edu.au

Pictured:
Muslin Banksia by Deborah Worthy-Collins. Image courtesy of the artist.