PLATFORM 2014 JAN MANTON @ METRO ARTS

In the third instalment of the Platform series from Jan Manton Art, artists Michael Doolan, Stephen Hart, Gabrielle Courtenay and Merete Megarrity come together in an unlikely aesthetic combination. Platform 2014 showcases links between the artists’ deeper observations of and explorations into the notions of cultural literacy and human understanding through primarily sculptural works. Originally, the selection of artists for Platform 2014 followed from the opportunity to exhibit larger-scale works than what would ordinarily fit in the Jan Manton Art gallery space in Spring Hill. However, this selection of artists has since morphed into a particularly coherent, visually engaging conceptual exhibition where new conceptual dialogue is again created through the pairing, positioning and contrasting of the artists and their works. 

The selected works showcased in Platform 2014 demonstrate each artist’s exploration into their own understanding of both the human condition and the broader concept of cultural literacy and communal interaction. While each artist engages in differing physical mediums and facets of human understanding, interaction and expression, the exhibition radiates a sense of cogent comprehension. Melbourne artist Michael Doolan’s latest selection of works examine the literary fairy-tale, the narrative artform that we have witnessed evolving through various continents, eras and elaborations. Through reinterpreting the core motifs, images and characters via the exploration of various new forms, details and tones, Doolan presents intricate, visually striking three-dimensional ceramic and enamel sculptures that demonstrate new ways of both reading and decoding the traditional fairytale. Doolan’s works are at once both familiar and foreign, inciting a sense of immediate understanding and recognition at first glance, while also simultaneously encouraging further critical thought on the slightly changed, exaggerated or newly-paired motifs from familiar fairytales such as Snow White.

Similarly to Doolan’s investigation of cultural motifs and collective readings, Sydney artist Gabrielle Courtenay utilises culturally specific symbols to construct and arrange new narratives within her works. Interested in the concepts of pictorial space and aesthetic ornament, and often removing symbols of cultural significance from their original context, Courtenay is able to create a sense of unknowing by rebuilding images with a new narrative - inviting the viewer to interpret the now ambiguous meaning of the metaphorical and the abstract. Courtenay’s paintings in Platform 2014 demonstrate a curiosity with the idea of the mythical, juxtaposing symbols and scenery from the Australian environment, classic tales of mythology and astrological explorations to create subtly startling new works that delve further into the themes of connection and interaction. 

Brisbane-based artist Merete Megarrity actively explores the notions of connection and interaction in her most recent, intricate series of works. Megarrity’s Bush March, 2014, utilises found objects from the Australian bush landscape to create a multi-layered, implicative work that at once highlights the simultaneously delicate and hardy nature of the Australian bush, illustrating the fragile dynamics of both our natural world and our environmental experiences. In a particularly pertinent representation of the fragile nature of creating work from found, organic materials, Megarrity offers the opportunity to have particular sculptures re-cast in bronze - the process of which destroys the original organic matter. 

The final artist in the Platform 2014 selection is Brisbane-based sculptural artist Stephen Hart, whose most recent work continues his thematic investigation into the nature of the human condition and its relationship to the built and urban environments of Australia. Further developing the conceptual side of his figurative practice, Hart has directed his work along a more anonymous, less clinical, less traceable path. Introducing photo media to a large scale sculptural work for Platform 2014, Hart has created an unexpected new aesthetic - resulting in a visual engagement that is at once both rich and complex. 

Together, this unlikely selection of new works engages on a conceptual level, exploring the shared ties within the notions of cultural literacy, the human condition and communal understanding and interpretation. Linked with social commentary on the contemporary interpretation of ideas and the various issues facing us today, the artworks of Platform 2014 encourage thought and discussion.

CHARLOTTE TEGAN

Curator of Platform 2014