Trevor Spohr

This fabulous assemblage 'Falling Man' was created by Trevor Spohr (Art and Cultural Development Officer) from the fabulous Gatakers Artspace in Maryborough. It features a cast aluminium figure. It will be on show and available for purchase at the Breathing Space exhibition at Graydon Gallery next month.  See below for details

Moreton Bay Art Awards

This week I have been trying to get a work ready for the Moreton Bay Art Awards.I had a few print dramas though and consequently ran out of time to get one in the mail.  I wanted to send a print down to a framer  in Strathpine and have them deliver the finished work to the gallery.  Works were due in today.

So, I drove to Brisbane yesterday.

When the framer and I saw the second print under overhead lights, we decided to have a new one printed by a local printer. So, with that arranged, I left to meet the printer.  He was very helpful and said he would deliver the print to the framer late that afternoon.

Today the work will be framed and then delivered to the gallery.

On my way home I dropped off my tins for the 'renew' exhibition at Hervey Bay Regional Gallery.  I will come back to the gallery next week to set up the 'Citadels'.

I had time to drop in to a couple of charity shops, and true to my beliefs, two fabric bride's horseshoes turned up!!

I chose the one that is completely white as it doesn't compete with the other parts of The Bride.  It almost becomes invisible.  The horseshoe and the wishbone add to the symbolism already in the work. So I will leave The Bride set up this way and see if I have to make any changes later in the week.

The Bride

This is a recent work I think I will call 'The bride wore white'.  I am looking for a white satin horseshoe to finish the piece.  I know I will find it soon.  When you work with found objects, they often seem to come to you when needed.

The rusty old iron gate represent the home of an older generation of women, the fifties I would guess. The white tablecloth represents the bride who's life centred around the family and home.

Objects from the  fifties and sixties are in particular, the objects society is discarding.  The values of that generation seem to be cast aside to some degree also.

I will be making several works about the bride in the next few months. These works also reference recent flooding as in the 'Water Falls 1' piece.


Till soon,

c x

Citadels

Yesterday I photographed the three circular 'Lifescapes' that will be taken to Hervey Bay for the 'renew' exhibition that comes up in May.

These works are difficult to photograph and I will have to try again,  however the curator Marj Sullivan,was very happy with the artworks, so all is fine.

The works are titled Citadel 1, 2 and 3.  Each piece displayed on a circular plastic tablecloth. Three very simple works playing with patterns and shapes.

New video of selected 3d artworks

Suburban Goddess-Gatakers Artspace

I commenced my art practice in 1988. I am self taught and my early years were as a painter. After a time though I developed an interest in sculpture with 'junk' and found that this was an area in which I was able to be more playful and inventive.

In 2006 I received an Australia Council grant to produce works in the theme of the 'Suburban Goddess'. The works I produced can be seen on my website at:

http://www.christineturner.com.au/website16may20/sgthumbn.html

At that time I wrote about my work:


'It has been said that the big question for a person in their middle years is a spiritual one. In my quest to find gods and goddesses, I have only found one, and that is Mother. My own, living Mother.
She is my 'Suburban Goddess'…a goddess that reigned in the fifties and sixties- presiding within a ‘Traditional’ family model that actualised what has been called by some a 'Golden Age' and by others an 'abberation'.This was a paradigm that could not sustain itself, but one that still causes today a degree of uncertainty and sense of loss in current familial relationships. The family of today takes many forms and consequently the role of Mother changes to meet contemporary needs.

The chattels of the ‘Suburban Goddess’ have been assembled. These are the objects society is currently discarding, and with them go aspects of her values and standards. These works, exhibit a stacking up of diverse objects, that serve, like totem poles, to preserve social and cultural histories through a process both unique and innovative.

The curatorial rationale of the 'Suburban Goddess" project seeks to investigate these themes in order to open up a dialogue relating to the ever-changing role of women in society.'


I had made a pledge that in the future I would show the works 'en masse'. I acquitted the grant.

The 'Broken Woman' series of digital images that I have been producing will be developed as a digital projection. The digital projection will form part of the Suburban Goddess installation.

I will feature works from this series from time to time.
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GATAKERS ARTSPACE

My friends and I travelled to Maryborough recently to see the fabulous new gallery- Gatakers Artspace. These buildings are valuable historically and were purchased in 2005 by the Maryborough City Council with the assistance of Q150 funding from the Queensland Government.

Gatakers Artspace opened in March 2010.

The galleries are fabulous and we especially were drawn to the Rollo Nicholson Room. Rollo Nicholson was the last owner and a member of the Gataker family. The Rollo Nicholson room seems to lend itself to the display of sculpture. This was a venue that could accommodate my 50 goddesses.

We booked in immediately. My exhibiton was booked for September 8, 2010 - October 10 , 2010. My friends Catherine and Sue, booked the gallery straight after my exhibition. Exciting!!

So that brings us to today. Projects for today are to start on the Powerpoint Presentation of the 'Broken Woman' series and to put a coat of gold paint on my collage canvas.

Till soon.