The Ramp Gallery and Community Exhibition Space are operated by Monash Gallery of Art.

To express an interest in exhibiting in these spaces, please email Stella Loftus-Hills

COMMUNITY EXHIBITION SPACE

Heather Stirling: mosaics
2–28 March 2010

Monash Gallery of Art is pleased to present Mosaics, an exhibition by Heather Stirling.

Artist statement

I have had a life-long interest in art and craft, and been particularly fascinated by mosaics. I completed my first mosaic class some years ago at Mount Street Neighbourhood House in Glen Waverley after retiring early from social welfare work. I experienced an immediate passionate connection with this art form. I have since participated in a number of classes and workshops in mosaics and glass cutting with different artists, and am now involved in a weekly workshop at the Vermont South Community House.

My work is colourful and quirky – a great way to add colour to our drought stricken gardens! I have designed and made many and varied objects, sometimes utilising fragments of china etc which have significance for people, thus creating special keepsakes. "Rabbits at Dusk – Remembering" was created for a friend whose mother had kept her jewellery in a cigarette box with the Carlton Ware "Rabbits at Dusk" design on its lid. My friend was disappointed when the box was broken, giving it to me to "do something with" and was delighted to receive it back incorporated into a mosaic picture.

The influences on my work include historic designs such as Moorish mosaics and those at Pompeii; Art Deco; nature and a love of flowers; ceramic and fabric designs; bright retro colours, and traditional folk designs. And sometimes, I just enjoy kitsch and quirky!

The Pompeii Cattle Dog stepping stone was based on a design used in the doorways of villas in Pompeii to advise people to "Beware of the Dog". The colours of the dog reflect my cattle dog, Mokki. The china pieces around the edge speak of Australia's comparatively recent European history (compared with Pompeii) as they were found buried in the mining "ghost town", Silverton, near Broken Hill. This mosaic piece was created using broken plates and was made using the indirect method to ensure a flat surface.

I enjoy using recycled objects to make my mosaics where possible. Many visits to opportunity shops and garage sales produce interesting shapes to use as bases, and appealing, colourful china to cut up to incorporate into my designs. Animals and birds are often 'hidden' in works, such as "Grandma's Garden" to activate children's interest. I also use glass, tiles, beads and many found objects.

I have successfully exhibited my work at local Art Shows and sold several pieces privately and through the Highway Gallery Annual Art and Craft Sale in Mount Waverley.

I am a member of the Mosaic Association of Australia and New Zealand (MAANZ) and recently participated in a Symposium and Exhibition held by this organisation in Brisbane with 100 other like-minded mosaic artists (or addicts) from all over Australia and New Zealand and with guests from America and Turkey.

When travelling, I have sought out and been inspired by mosaics in Spain, Italy, England and many Australian country towns (and indeed Melbourne and Waverley Park). I am fascinated by the history of mosaics and the variety of mosaic art currently being produced by artists in Australia and around the world.

>download media release (pdf)

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Lyra
Hello 2009
Lambda print
84.10 x 118.90cm

RAMP GALLERY

Lyra:status anxiety
> 3 March–11 April 2010
> Opening: 3.00pm–5.00pm, Saturday 06 March 2010

This exhibition explores society’s pressures on women to conform to ideals as presented by the glossy images of fashion magazines and advertising.

A series of photographs featuring a Stepford Wife-like model at first glance appear to be from a high fashion magazine, but a closer inspection reveals domestic life turned literally upside down - as if gravity has been suspended, her internal anxiety projected onto her surroundings.

The exhibition also includes a supplementary series of unique hand-assembled layered photographs, bringing these images of the ‘everyday’ to the third dimension.

With a background in film, video and fine arts, Lyra continues to capture her love of fashion, music and travel via the lens. Starting her photographic training in a darkroom at age 16, she progressed into moving pictures andreceived her high school’s Academic Excellence in Media Award at VCE (HSC) level for both consecutive years.

Her graduation music video was subsequently chosen and screened at the Melbourne Museum as part of the 2001 TOP DESIGNS Season of Excellence exhibition. She then completed a Bachelor of Creative Arts, majoring in film, from the University of Melbourne in 2003.

Relocating to Sydney in 2005 where she is now based, Lyra is currently studying for a Masters of Art (Photomedia) at COFA. Having participated in several group shows over the years, Status Anxiety at MGA is Lyra’s debut solo exhibition. It is especially poignant returning to Melbourne to unveil these new works, as the City of Monash is the neighbourhood where she grew up attending Mount Waverley Primary School and Glen Waverley Secondary College.

Photography: Lyra
Make Up / Hair: Lynne O'Brien
Model: Justine

Thanks to major sponsor Pixel Perfect Pro Lab (Sydney), Monash Gallery of Art, and the City of Monash. Status Anxiety will show in Sydney in April.
lyra's email
lyra's website
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>download media release (pdf)

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RAMP GALLERY

Marianne Hevern: for Ash
28 January–28 February 2010

As our fragile world continues to change before our eyes, there is a longing to capture the beauty of this delicate polar region.

Artist statement:

My work explores two major themes, animals and the human condition – its beauty, uniqueness, fragility, warmth, compassion and the ability to love. Since I can remember, I have enjoyed working with basic materials – paper, pen and pencils due to their inherent ability to simplify and achieve fine detail and precision, characteristics which I esteem highly and never quite had the level of skill to master with media such as paint. Having experimented with a myriad of materials, including wheel pottery for which I have an entirely new and growing appreciation of, my use of media has evolved to include photography. I particularly enjoy the raw, organic and unique quality of polaroid photography, seen in several of my works, including Since when do birds need parking? (a title revealing my corny humour!).

I have spent the last four years studying science (BSc Genetics, Zoology, Postgrad. Dip. Animal Science) and creating and exploring art peripherally, which has provided me with a river of enthusiasm, energy and inspiration. I think this lifestyle combination is conducive to personal growth and life balance. Science is often an equation, a brilliant world rigidly defined by rules, principles and laws that exclude or reject outliers, mutants, abnormalities and errors. Art on the contrary, is a world of infinite possibilities, a different dimension embracing all variation and every level of diversity.

My intense interest in animals and bioethics has played a significant role in the development of my work and introduces in them a subtle moral content. This is more obviously identified in the work Isn't which depicts an apparently lifeless elephant imprisoned in the name of a zoo. Using animals in ways that provide therapeutic value to people is also a dimension in life I am absolutely and completely engrossed by. This has been translated in to works such as The dream to be like birds and As free as the wind , which in my mind, celebrate and draw attention to the tranquil, peaceful and free nature of animals. m.e.hevern@hotmail.com

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Marianne Hevern
Untitled
acrylic paint on lino
36cm x 54cm