Empowering the animal world through myths, literature, poetry, nursery rhymes and cartoons might seem a common form of transmogrifying humanity’s morals and politics, but it is an effective way to pull out darker stories about personal memories and historical events. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll and James Gilray gave animals distinctive personalities and names, characters who were capable of interventions or facilitating fateful and hilarious outcomes. Artists such as Goya animated his etchings with owls, bats and donkeys to great effect. In Heather Shimmen’s recent body of prints and sculptural assemblages we find Indigenous Australian creatures enticing us into fabulous, metaphysical realms that weave around politics, environmentalism, racism and feminising tales of women adrift, adorned, lost or outcast. Excavating forgotten stories and sequencing images is one of Shimmen’s main conceptual and aesthetic tropes and her repertoire of animals and visual narratives engage us at various levels. In her words, ‘A bee in the hair is worth a hive in the hand’, sometimes with a sting.
Excerpt from essay by Sheridan Palmer, March 2021. University of Melbourne
Meet the Artist – Saturday 22 May 2pm to 4pm
This years’ Artists For Kids Culture Art Auction will include artworks by Rosalind Atkins, Rona Green, Martin King, Lewis Miller, …
Image above: Heather Shimmen Sighted 2021 linocut and ink on paper edition 25 112 x 76 cm Congratulations to Dianne …
‘If Collaboration Is the Method, Activism Is the Intention’ FEM-aFFINITY brings together female artists from Arts Project Australia and wider …
Image above: Orest Keywan That Line 2023 steel 168 x 271 x 190cm Congratulations to Orest Keywan, Michael Snape and …
Image above: Andrew Antoniou Weird & Wonderful 2024 charcoal on paper 82 x 88 cm Congratulations to Andrew Antoniou who …
Image above: Christine Wrest-Smith Portrait of Susan Johnson oil on linen 122 x 92cm Congratulations to Christine Wrest-Smith who has been …
Image above: Deborah Williams The air smells different 2023 aquatint intalgio 53×39.5cm Congratulations to Deborah Williams, Martin King and Phillip …
Above image details: Jenny Rodgerson Mum’s orange cardigan 2024 oil on linen 60 x 40 cm Congratulations to Jenny Rodgerson and …
Image above: Sarah Tomasetti From Balpatta X 2024 145 x 150 cm pigment oil and marble dust on fresco Congratulations to Holly …
Image above (left to right): Graeme Drendel Portrait of Rick 2024 oil on canvas 41 x 31 cm | Michelle Hiscock …
Image above: Janet Luxton Giant Australian Cuttlefish 2021 oil on canvas 120x160cm Congratulations to Janet Luxton who has had two …
Above image: Wayne Eager, Allegory I 2023 oil on linen 95 x 133 cm Wayne Eager was interviewed by Janet …
Image above: Marina Strocchi The vineyards of Madden’s Lane 2023 acrylic on linen 122 x 152 cm Congratulations to Kate …