Remain Calm & Open The Show...

FLASH Alternative enigmas...an exhibition of works on paper by Karen Kaese
After what seems like several weeks of constant tiredness & internal conflict i finally reached a place that was beyond my expectations.
Its a momentous thing to commit to, create & stage exhibitions. In this instance as a one band women (one women band). From whimsy it is an easy distraction into all kinds of shallow thoughts that lead nowhere. Worst still when you do intermittent 'things' in between the everyday 'things'  like family interactions and such you wonder if anything will eventuate. ..Of course stressing too much is never a good idea..in the end i just went with whatever processes i felt like doing intuitively. The outcome? I am still processing that however i definitely felt close & within  the  creative space whilst both painting on paper & sewing.  Quiet through the deadlines..In the end ..the opening was terrific. It worked out & in combination with the Manus Island Dancers who brought everything to life by performing several pieces in the gallery, all the audience was for a moment able to be transported somewhere else. 

Sky Dancers, Karen Kaese

My Myths, Karen Kaese

Karen Kaese

Sprout, Karen Kaese

thinking aloud in the kitchen

Sitting here in  the kitchen observing a minor bird trying to menace a crow. Between them & the traffic it is difficult to stay calm & picture layout & possible intall configurations.
Thinking about the space of the gallery in which i will be opening my next solo show. The gallery is a biggish new space that is located above an open access print studio in Brisbane. The show is called Flash...etc(see image) I am looking at the idea of Bilas & multiple identity... so Bilas is dressing up in Papua New Guinea; enacting specific clan rituals at special events, places; celebrations generally...Sometimes ostentatious sometimes  minimal; the focus is about  representing something about where you are from, your identity & carry on the tradition & strength of the clan. It's usually a moment when tribal spiritual beliefs are displayed in public with the same fervor as christian beliefs and people get into the spirit of things making the spectacle even more captivating.
I saw an interesting coverage of the Goroka show(famed gathering of peoples throughout PNG as well as adventurous tourists i guess) on ABC online which sparked a series of collages & thoughts about myths.. The ABC story  consisted of photos of a bizarre  group dressed in balaclava's with some men painted in black grinding their bums together making twirking like movements as well as so many other beautiful creations that really inpired me. .In the last few years we have celebrated PNG Independence Day in Brisbane with dancers,musicians & singers from throughout PNG & Queensland performing. Thats been an invigorating experience because it unites all the people settled in Brisbane with those in PNG in a cultural celebration we dont experience too often in Brisbane. Theres Chinese,Greek,Italian but anything from the Pacific is rare.

So what does Bilas mean in this instance??
Nowadays Bilas is a generic term for putting your best on & stepping out with your wantoks. My interpretation in this series is imagined in a space of departure;a distance in which i have been living,working in Australia without language or culture really..It is also a transitional & transformative state that i want to explore in the manner of using this ephemera...invoking this place & my connections through collage of materials.
 I am finding it is an intriguing learning experience trying to remember & to know the place you have been as much as trying to determine the future.  I have forgotten so much  that it is like an archaeological exploration with threads that lead to all sorts of possibilities. How did i get so estranged from all this? Well  i supposes like most migrants i went to school here & lived a life of constant information about how to be "Australian" that i learned  within the broad brush of 'assimilation'...and  multiculturalism...To me it seemed pretty obvious..we accept you;  now you are one of us ..anzacs..explorers, bushrangers, flags, waltzing matilda...don't go inland, go to the beach but don't get eaten by a shark! All interesting information & rhetoric that seemed  a diversion, a ruse to what was really going on.Another estrangement...

Though i have the majority of collages,drawings,prints done i am in the midst of completing objects. Specifically Ive been assembling these little critters made out of Fimo..which id like to populate a low space..they are whimsical & reminde me of when i was a kid & all the time i spent with the other kids wondering along the reef that surrounds my grandfathers island playing in the hot shallow water,looking at all the creatures...hmm seems like  a few threads in this show then..we' ll see!?#*

book play

Malay Upside Down & Map Making (Print & collage)

Wherever you are .Close your eyes (Etching/collage)

...playing around with these book things again... collage of printmaking & other drawings...im not interested in making anything in editions or to craft a type/style of book...just the freedom to do do stuff intuitively..
You can see these & other fab stuff at the latest local print club members show at the  BIA gallery here in Brisbane.

Valley rant

The valley mall in Brisbane is a bit of an eyesore, tired and stubborn engulfed in an island of traffic it is a spot for passing through except on weekends when you can browse the markets.  Being the den of all things questionable (in Brisbane) much of the edges of decay are eased as the night encloses it. Night becomes it; you use other senses and all is well again.
Being  there in the day however and you  look but dont look at the people; a ramshackle collective that is mixed with the everpresent pigeon's and a few police vehicles. Why do they park there? do they expect a riot to break out at any moment? 
I hate the frock shops i wish there was a book store again and a decent coffee shop that actually has ceramic cups! Mollinos is ok but like the valley tired and out for the count. I expect the whole place will be bulldozed as soon as the developers get crafty but we will see..
Yesterday we (felix & i) walked to the valley to search for opshop treasures in between purchasing fruit & veg. We didnt find any treats but decided to go to the IMA thats the institute of modern art to see if there was any exhibitions on..and yes a very interesting and according to Felix a bootiful one. He would know as the works on display look alot like things he'd put together and thats not denigrating the artist at all.
There is a time in the immersion of art making/doing/thinking when you have to be pre constructed...ahh before growing into the worlds rules.. Anyway the exhibition of works were quite good & not as annoying as some of the shows they have there... If an alien really wanted to probe human beings to know what humans are like they would go to a contemporary art exhibition; upon which they would go away very far very fast  never to return to earth. Read about Mkala Dwyer  & also below from IMA site. I love her work do you?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

In the 1990s, Sydney artist Mikala Dwyer became famous for creating playful installations that provocatively conflated pedigreed modern art with the amateur, the infantile, and the feminine. Since her 2000 retrospective at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art, her works have moved off in a new direction, increasingly mining the irrational, the paranormal, the occult. Dwyer has convened circles of anthropomorphic, totemic objects, suggesting seances and covens; has toyed with black-arts paraphernalia, including candles and Ouija boards; has employed palm readers and clairvoyants to serve gallerygoers; has made art professionals dress up as crystals; and has collaborated with neodadaist Justene Williams to channel spirits of female convicts of yesteryear. For Dwyer, it is always about the return-of-the-repressed. As much as formalism seeks to drive out the amateur, the infantile, the feminine, and the irrational, in her work they always come back to haunt it. Dwyer is represented by Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney; Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne; Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington; and Hamish Morrison Galerie, Berlin.

things to do:still time

..still time..

What a tedious month goodbye January and almost February... Still i am hopeful and thinking about the years possibilities.. i have alot of expectations for the year as I'm sure a lot of you have also. I realised the other day that my head literally buzzes with an annoying noisy noise...so i went and found somewhere silent to sit for a while..
So one thing on me list of possibilities was a solo exhibition and at the minute i am preparing for this one whole week...so much drama for one whole week. ..but fun!
I am being frugal & using materials i have acquired and also sourcing odd bits of stuff..
So far i have collected wood, card, paper, leather and my favourite items plastic coat hangers from the department stores here..particularly the ones used for children's clothes..i love collars as well so i have cut up some old shirts...
The exhibition itself is a disparate collection of me & these things..a big experiment of these wonders and lots of paper in various forms.. not a lot of prints though

So in earnest I went into the studio to do some more mono prints; actually i didn't have a plan & after not much sleep i sat thinking about what to do for a time staring into space. I didn't even drink coffee; i thought maybe i should take up running...some physical non thinking activity..?

The other item from "the list in my mind" was to improve my diet and perhaps take supplements too so i can be a happy little Vegemite.. I bought Spirulina and Q10; as yet i cannot judge  whether  these are either good or bad.
Now i must sleep get into it again; for tomorrow days are shorter so if you are near please come to my opening fri march 16th..Ill have prints, some books, drawings and random wall assortments (the uncollectables)

crossing still time



'Still Time I' & 'Crossing' 2011

..new identities,necessary transformations.. shown at the empty set exhibition..Drawing & collage on paper

the empty set opening Friday 2 December at White Canvas Gallery

..i am in this group show  "the empty set"opening soon...

Opening night is Friday 2 December at White Canvas Gallery, 26 Church St, Fortitude Valley from 6 pm  Friends are most welcome, so please feel free to pass this invitation on. 2-6 Dec...
The {Empty Set} is a group show of artists exploring notions of liminality: the space in between light and dark, life and death, one reality and another. The space where demons flourish in the turmoil of spiritual uncertainty and transformative moments glitter in the midst of chaos.

Transience, fragmentation, dissolution, ritual, hybrid forms, myth, magic, new cosmologies and the undead are some of the soft fruits of metamorphosis that inhabit the liminal landscape. These are some of the themes explored by the artists in The {Empty Set} across diverse media that includes video,installation, jewellery, works on paper and artist books.

Baboa Gallery

Official opening: Saturday 26 November 3 to 5 PM 5 Denning St The Gap Brisbane

paper,paper: "The Round Up Exhibition"

Closer &Closer front (w papercut) Sleep Walking Book Series back

Nothwithstanding, Collage


For more images of the opening celebrations see here on The Round Up facebook page. So good to see a whole new crowd at these things; and to show with an interesting group of artists in Brisbane.

Queensland Quebec

Q/Q Water Portraits Opening October 5th in Quebec & here in Australia in 2012. A collection of marvelous prints!

...firstdraft fundraiser sydney oz

http://firstdraftgallery.com

..at the moment

At the moment it is raining here in Brisbane which signals summer. Really Australians dont have seasons; as in most parts of the tropics it is a wet & a dry with a little bit of everything in between. So inhale!The lush rain is here for the rest of the day & the light has changed bringing with it some vigorous thunder & window watching...with a cup of tea.
While im here...You might like to explore the PIPE 2010show & all its satellite activities that are happening in Malaysia at the moment if you are indeed there. There are shows by some key Malaysian artists (Juhari Said) & the international print show with participating artists from all over the globe... Ill post images when they are available...here
1. Juhari Said's Solo
This exhibition entitled "Before" will features some of his prints created before and after his travelling to Japan. The Baju Kurung and Kilimanjaro Series are the best examples that reflect his travelling experience that had changes his understanding and perception towards printmaking, colors and medium. Beside that printmaking enthusiasts will also have the opportunity to view some of his works produced between 1991 and 2008.
Venue Galeri Seni Mutiara, 118 Lebuh Armenian, 10200 Pulau Pinang
Date 5 to 22 September, 2010
Phone 604-2620167

2. Solo Show by Loo Foh Sang
Solo show by Loo Foh Sang will showcase a body of works which place emphasis on the new approach in making art, namely printmaking. Each print techniques is a carefully thought of creation and posseses a rhythmic flow in images, colour and composition.This exhibition consist around 60 of works which is covered form techniques of silkscreen,etching on plate to transfer image on papers.
Title Solo Show by Loo Foh Sang
Venue Peter Liu Art Gallery, 84, Lebuh Melayu, Georgetown, Pulau Pinang
Date 23 September, 2010
Hp 6012 - 3329233
Admission FREE

3. Solo Show by Mohammad Khizal Saat
Solo show by Mohammad Khizal Saat will showcase a body of works which place emphasis on the new approach in making art, namely printmaking. Each print techniques is a carefully thought of creation and posseses a rhythmic flow in images, colour and composition.This exhibition consist around 60 of works which is covered form techniques of silkscreen,etching on plate to transfer image on papers.
Title Mohammad Khizal Saat
Venue Peter Liu Art Gallery, 84, Lebuh Melayu, Georgetown, Pulau Pinang
Date 23 September, 2010

..the curious collector

..the series of collages made for the curious collector have sold so i am pleased...in fact altogether i think there was more than seven thousand dollars raised for the Mater Foundation to buy equipment for oncology sevices ...:)

An exhibition in memory of Iain Turnbull who was a collector of all things as artists are...
Several artists(Madonna Staunton,suzanne Danaher,Glen Skien, Gwen Tasker,Ian Friend) are exhibiting items such as prints & assemblages made with Iains collected materials that included parts of a piano, windows, draws...all things full of possibilities.I am contributing some collage works using piano parts...wood/wire with felt edge that taps on the keys(?)...must find the name of these..
Sales will be donated to the Mater Foundation to buy equipment for oncology services
Join us for the opening june 24,6-8pm. QCA Project Gallery, Grey St South Bank Brisbane

An Accumulation of Energy..Marcia Jane and Dinesh de Silva

A special Blindside project across the whole gallery for three days only.

10 to 12 June 2010 Opening on Thursday 10 June 6-8pm

An accumulation of energy. Shimmering sky projections and amplified sound supercharge the physical space of Blindside gallery. Sound and light fragment then coalesce. This time, this space for three days ... that's it. "there are no connections... only resonances, beats, rhythms, closures" (Marshall McLuhan)

Closing Performance Saturday 12 June 4-6pm with K&M (Phoebe Faulkner and Jason Montero)blindside.org.au/2010/an-accumulation-of
www.concealedentrance.com
permutations.net

on paper

An exhibition of works on paper by emerging printmakers from Queensland College of Art Print Club & Impress Printmakers in Brisbane, Australia. It will be an exhibition that is sure to be an eclectic collection of works on paper. Curated by Russell Craig & Noreen Graham of Graham Galleries in Brisbane to coincide with PCA AGM & several activities that comprises.
Lots of printmaking aficionados are expected to attend the annual AGM & a vist to QCA is on the itinerary. A proportion of sales of works will benefit Impress as they set up their new studio & also the printmaking students of QCA.
Sat 15th May - Sun 31st May 2010
Project Gallery, QCA Webb Centre
Level 2, 226 Grey St, South Brisbane
Gallery Hours 10am - 4pm
www.printcouncil.org.au
www.impress.org.au
www.griffithprintclub.com