Encounter

Encounter

Grace Cossington Smith Gallery
1666 Pacific Highway
Wahroongah NSW
8 November to 7 December 2024
Hours: 10:00am – 5:00pm-Saturday

The work for Encounter was created during an artist residency earlier this year at Konstepidemin, a former epidemic hospital and psychiatric clinic for children, in Gothenburg, Sweden. My main focus was on the Pannrummet, the original boiler room, in the basement of Konstepidemin, now one of several exhibition spaces, and probably the only space left in its original condition. The Pannrummet reveals layers of history in what would have been the heart of the hospital providing heating to rooms and for laundry, so vital to patient care.  I made a series of rubbings of the walls on both paper and fabric, marvelling at what was revealed as graphite was worked over the surfaces. I also took rubbings from the well-trodden metal staircase onto fabric dyed with medicinal plants found throughout the residency grounds. Each rubbing makes present and captures the indexical traces of those who used this space through the wear and tear on each step over 149 years.

Encounter brings together artists who have a common interest in the materiality of art, in referencing fibre and thread, and in examining ideas of place, heritage and memory. Through their works the artists consider themes of trauma, memory, identity and migration, reflecting on the impacts of colonization, displacement and environment. This exhibition invites audiences to reflect on how individual and collective histories intersect and shape our present.Together, artists Sylvia Griffin, Pamela Leung, Juanita McLauchlan, Lisa Pang and Sue Pedley, challenge viewers to reflect on their own narratives, prompting conversations about belonging, heritage, and the profound connections that shape our lives. Encounter invites audiences to engage with the layered stories woven into each artwork, fostering reflection and dialogue on the shared human experience.

See the key to the medicinal plants here https://sylviagriffin.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IMG_2584-3.jpg

Images: Richard Glover, Jane Bodnaruk, and Sylvia Griffin.