UP-SIDE-DOWN
MINNA LEUNIG MONIQUE ROBINSON LANA LAUNAY
UP-SIDE-DOWN
20 – 31 July 2022
Catalogue & Price List: View PDF Catalogue (7mb)
Saint Cloche is delighted to present our first Pas de Trois for 2022 with a brilliant ‘dance of three’ – a curatorial synthesis with Minna Leunig, Monique Robinson and Lana Launay with UP-SIDE-DOWN.
Ambigrams are an art form involving words, readable from more than one perspective. At its core, ambigrams are about ambiguity and ‘inexactness’ and takes on the same sort of life that a symbol does by connecting to nature, somewhat becoming its own entity, and such a visually dynamic one.
Symbols affect us deeply as expressions of the fundamental principles and forms that life embodies. Nature is intrinsic to everyone, and when it is applied symbolically in visual language, the possibility of creating a connection with the audience is significantly heightened because it mirrors the relationships within and around us.
The ambigram is one of the few modern forms that connects both the intellect and intuition instantaneously. They work like visual illusions, revealing unexpected new messages with each amalgamation.
What emerges from this expressive pas de trois? Artists of varied mediums who have come together in a poetic dance inspired by the times and the cyclical rhythms of life and nature, movement and balance, and an enduring serenity with an abundance of light and warmth.
ABOUT MINNA LEUNIG
Minna Leunig (she/her) is a Geelong based artist living and working on the traditional lands of the Wadawurrung people. Painting with acrylic on canvas, Minna creates playful images inspired by the unique beauty and feeling across a vast array of native Australian landscapes – all the way from the dry sclerophyll forests of the Strathbogie ranges, to the tangled mangroves and thick rainforests of Cape York.
Her work features bold silhouettes, organic lines and demonstrates a careful consideration for how shapes fit together to create harmonious and balanced patterns – symbolic of finely balanced ecosystems and the way in which specific plants and animals fit together to create an interactive stability. Thick and tactile paint textures have also come to define Minna’s work, reminiscent of textures found within many Australian landscapes. Through her paintings, she seeks to bring consciousness back to the natural world at a time where fragile ecosystems need our consciousness more than ever.
As well as having exhibited in Australia since 2013 , Minna has a keen interest in bringing art out of gallery spaces and into the public realm through large scale murals, working by the philosophy that art should be an integral part of everyday life, and accessible to all.
“Over the years, my playful representations of plant and animal forms have been as much an exploration and enjoyment of shape as they have been a celebration of the natural world. I have always been drawn to bold forms both in life and in art – fascinated by what it takes to create an arrangement of shapes that feel intuitively pleasing, balanced and alive on a canvas. Much of my practice is about the considered arrangement of shape and involves a process of constant adjustment until each element has found its final form on the canvas.
For this exhibition, rather than creating images that very clearly represent identifiable native Australian plants and animals, I felt compelled towards further abstraction – towards forms that are only reminiscent of what was once clear. This body of work encapsulates the beauty and spirit of the natural world through a movement towards the ambiguous, the symbolic and a strong sense of the eternal. I continually return to representing the flora and fauna of Australia as a way of bringing the environment into consciousness, at a time it needs our care and mindfulness more than ever.”
– Minna Leunig
ABOUT MONIQUE ROBINSON
Monique Robinson works predominantly in ceramic, with craftsmanship that also includes sculpture, lighting, and creative direction/set design. With an Honours degree of Interior Architecture from the University of New South Wales, Monique developed an interest in tactility and LOCKERROOM was established to enable continuous exploration in these practices.
Monique Robinson exhibits an intrigue in experimental and functional forms, often drawing upon natural, geographical, art and architectural inspiration to develop and conceptualise bodies of work. A particular focus within the work is the emphasis on hand-made, that of mark-making and impressions that often signify a moment in time or a piece unique unto itself that cannot be recreated.
“This body of work delves into an ongoing interest of capturing ‘moments in time’ in vessels or objects. The nucleus being, sunrise and sunset. These times of day have a noticeable effect of distortion in definitive time, as the sky begins to appear more organic, blending into the sea, tree lines or the mountain tops, creating an effect that can provoke an uncertainty in the way one perceives ‘up’ or ‘down’, land or sky. The works draw from the rich colours that expose themselves at this time of day (red, orange, yellow) and the way they melt into each other.
The textures and shapes of intruding objects also play a significant role in these works. Trees, moss, rocks, mountain-scapes often distort these moments of sky melding into land. This gesture transcends into the physical forms of the made pieces to represent textured, raw, and organic vessels, capturing the essence of imperfections similar to these distorted vistas. There is a continued connection to the land, river, mountains, and sea that each vessel holds and reflects, capturing these morphological moments in time.”
– Monique Robinson
ABOUT LANA LAUNAY
A self-taught sculptor and artisan, Lana Launay is currently working on Sydney’s Northern Beaches creating small to large-scale lighting objects that are fabricated with environmentally considered materials, woven, wrapped, and assembled on reclaimed frames she collects, or manipulated metal frames made locally.
Natural materials and found frames are the focus of Lana’s light-scapes. Using self-taught weaving techniques, she binds each individual frame with primitive fibres like coconut shell rope, bamboo stalks, shoji paper, coffee-stained raffia leaf and organic yarns that are sourced from their native land. The result is a range of refined, original, and hand-crafted objects that throw and diffuse light in inventive ways – the works’ final forms are playful and make a statement even without light.
Lana has built her practice through a combination of artisanal skills she accumulated over various studies in visual arts, textile experimentation and Jewellery making. These skills combined with an appreciation for texture and a keen eye for detail led her to build a light and shade brand, Shades Launay. These illuminated installations are the first glimpse into Lana’s sculptural work where she experiments with shape, light, and scale within the formal context of interior life and its limitations.
“Throughout my practice with light and shade, I am guided by the thought that when I create something new, I aim to only use materials that are reclaimed or can biodegrade naturally.
Feeling haunted by the impact we have on our environment through the high, mass-manufacturing of products and throwaway mentality of consumer habits, I challenge my artistry to think resourcefully and ethically.
Exploring this exhibition’s theme, I experimented with form and spatial relationships, with the desire to create large scale silhouettes possessing character and charm.Keeping with my intentions, I have assembled recycled, metal lampshade frames, to build the skeletal structures exhibited here for ‘Up-Side-Down’. The structures are adorned with native-born fibres connecting the human made structure with the natural world through circular use of materials.
I have intended these installations to hold their own in a space, whilst being humbled by the softness of diffused light through natural fabrics.”
– Lana Launay
Catalogue & Price List: View PDF Catalogue (7mb)
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