CHAOS AND CLEAN SHAPES - 18 Sep 2008 - 11 Oct 2008
A solo show by Helen Britton, Australian artist based in Munich. A selection of brooches, necklaces, rings and earrings were she keeps on playing out tensions and beautiful collisions in small complex spaces, building miniature theatrical landscapes and emotional responses to the material world.
The observation:
I live in a big city in central Europe and there are lots of building sites. I watch the excavations, deliveries of materials and construction processes on my routine travels through Munich. The pleasure in structures forms the basis of my practice. Then there is the nature stuff. I come from a land where the natural often looks artificial and I now live in an environment that has been artificially constructed for so long that it seems natural. This notion of the natural is consequently blurred, opening a playing field of exchange and interpretation. There is no doubt that my original environment is embossed deeply into my consciousness, and that this condition makes exclusive claims on the way I choose my materials and develop the elements within the work.
The collection:
I am still roaming around finding things, hunting for and gathering materials, like I've be...
The observation:
I live in a big city in central Europe and there are lots of building sites. I watch the excavations, deliveries of materials and construction processes on my routine travels through Munich. The pleasure in structures forms the basis of my practice. Then there is the nature stuff. I come from a land where the natural often looks artificial and I now live in an environment that has been artificially constructed for so long that it seems natural. This notion of the natural is consequently blurred, opening a playing field of exchange and interpretation. There is no doubt that my original environment is embossed deeply into my consciousness, and that this condition makes exclusive claims on the way I choose my materials and develop the elements within the work.
The collection:
I am still roaming around finding things, hunting for and gathering materials, like I've be...
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A solo show by Helen Britton, Australian artist based in Munich. A selection of brooches, necklaces, rings and earrings were she keeps on playing out tensions and beautiful collisions in small complex spaces, building miniature theatrical landscapes and emotional responses to the material world.
The observation:
I live in a big city in central Europe and there are lots of building sites. I watch the excavations, deliveries of materials and construction processes on my routine travels through Munich. The pleasure in structures forms the basis of my practice. Then there is the nature stuff. I come from a land where the natural often looks artificial and I now live in an environment that has been artificially constructed for so long that it seems natural. This notion of the natural is consequently blurred, opening a playing field of exchange and interpretation. There is no doubt that my original environment is embossed deeply into my consciousness, and that this condition makes exclusive claims on the way I choose my materials and develop the elements within the work.
The collection:
I am still roaming around finding things, hunting for and gathering materials, like I've been doing for years. No shores here though, a few river banks and also heaps of junk.
The inspiration:
This comes at certain moments of her daily life in the city: Today when I was cycling over the Donnersbergerbrücke a small truck passed me by. The truck was loaded with very large wooden rolls coiled with coloured electrical wire. At the same time as seeing the miss-proportioned load on the truck, I also saw a life size, anatomically correct, bright yellow plastic elephant on a trailer that was being used to advertise telephones. It was a surreal moment, and when one is not horrified by this industrial baroque, then it is inspiring and lurking around every corner in big city life. I photograph it regularly -these strong images. When I make my work I am often trying to make sense of these visual experiences, to capture some of their qualities, and although my pieces are not illustrative, they are a direct response to the thing I see.
The construction:
Making jewellery, I play out tensions and beautiful collisions in a small complex space, building miniature theatrical landscapes and emotional responses to the material world.
Long term meditation on process must also be acknowledged. This is a story of endless experimentation, metamorphosis and realignment.
The observation:
I live in a big city in central Europe and there are lots of building sites. I watch the excavations, deliveries of materials and construction processes on my routine travels through Munich. The pleasure in structures forms the basis of my practice. Then there is the nature stuff. I come from a land where the natural often looks artificial and I now live in an environment that has been artificially constructed for so long that it seems natural. This notion of the natural is consequently blurred, opening a playing field of exchange and interpretation. There is no doubt that my original environment is embossed deeply into my consciousness, and that this condition makes exclusive claims on the way I choose my materials and develop the elements within the work.
The collection:
I am still roaming around finding things, hunting for and gathering materials, like I've been doing for years. No shores here though, a few river banks and also heaps of junk.
The inspiration:
This comes at certain moments of her daily life in the city: Today when I was cycling over the Donnersbergerbrücke a small truck passed me by. The truck was loaded with very large wooden rolls coiled with coloured electrical wire. At the same time as seeing the miss-proportioned load on the truck, I also saw a life size, anatomically correct, bright yellow plastic elephant on a trailer that was being used to advertise telephones. It was a surreal moment, and when one is not horrified by this industrial baroque, then it is inspiring and lurking around every corner in big city life. I photograph it regularly -these strong images. When I make my work I am often trying to make sense of these visual experiences, to capture some of their qualities, and although my pieces are not illustrative, they are a direct response to the thing I see.
The construction:
Making jewellery, I play out tensions and beautiful collisions in a small complex space, building miniature theatrical landscapes and emotional responses to the material world.
Long term meditation on process must also be acknowledged. This is a story of endless experimentation, metamorphosis and realignment.
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