Saturday, 24 November 2012

Sam Jinks: Body in Time: Rockhampton Art Gallery


 
Generally, being reminded of your impending death is a pretty depressing event.  You don’t expect to leave a reminder of your oblivion with a warm, serene, and comfortable sense of calm.  However, this is what you get when you visit Sam Jinks: Body in Time, currently on show at the Rockhampton Art Gallery. 

I was lucky enough to meet with Sam as the exhibition was getting its final touches before the opening.  Our conversation meandered, covering a multitude of topics, and it became clear that the gentle, human touch emanating from his exquisite sculptures are a product of the artist’s contemplative and focussed nature.  The thing that surprised me most from our discussion was the fact that he does not consider his work hyper-realistic, even though the overwhelming majority of the descriptions of his art place it in that category.  He went on to explain that although he was capable of it and has done so in a past life working in the film industry, he doesn’t feel that he needs to ‘take it to the nth degree’ to allow the works to have the level of impact they require.  Amazing, considering that, to me at least, the works look like they could open their eyes at any moment.

As you enter the room, you’re drawn to the large, anatomic exploration of the artist’s face on the far wall titled Calcium Divide (2011), and before you know it, you’re surrounded by bodies, whole and in fragments.  None of them seem overly gruesome or off-putting, due to their unnatural scale, either too big or too small to be actual human parts.  And even the more visceral portions of bodies don’t feel like viewing a corpse.  The room has both a cool, scientific feel, and genuine, human warmth to it. 

The level of detail and care taken to make these works look like realistic representations of people is awe inspiring.  ‘Organised imperfection’ is the term Jinks himself used when describing the complexity and beauty of the human form.  It also became clear throughout our meeting that producing and presenting these works is almost a compulsion for him.  That it can provide a certain catharsis through completion.  This need to make bodily objects to meet his exacting, analytical standards comes through to the viewer in a way that makes you alert, but not alarmed.

When you scan the room you realise that you’re surrounded by slices of life, literally and metaphorically.  Pre-birth all the way through to acceptance of mortality, and death itself is present in the room at once.  Most of the works are presented in a way so that you are at matching eye levels, making the experience very intimate.  We’re used to seeing diagrammatic life cycles of frogs and butterflies, but to be physically surrounded by a human life cycle is a very humbling experience. 

Strangely, these works don’t seem to dredge up massive emotional responses, something that is intentional on the part of the artist who said, ‘I’m not trying to tug at people’s heartstrings’.  His making process of trials and tests of materials and effects, coupled with the clean, almost taxidermy-style presentation of the works actively reduces the emotive response, leaving you with serene, contemplative feelings of appreciating our short but beautiful existence. 

We all know that each visitor to the exhibition will approach and read the works in their own way, but I’m quite sure the joy of life, the spectre of death, and awe at technical brilliance will be present in a vast majority of those readings.

Sam Jinks: Body in Time is on exhibition at the Rockhampton Art Gallery from 24 November to 27 January 2013


 

Tuesday, 13 November 2012

Walter's Ghost

This is the blurb I wrote to be presented at the unveiling of an installation work of mine, titled Walter's Ghost, that will be on permanent display at the Walter Reid Cultural Centre in Rockhampton.  It was very capably read by Rod Ainsworth, the Creative Director of Creative Capricorn, as I was unable to attend the event. 

In addition to thanking Creative Capricorn, and the Rockhampton Regional Council for commissioning this work, I’d like to thank Shane Burgess for his fantastic cabinetmaking skills, Rockhampton Trophy Centre for all their help with the laser cut stencils, and Kontraband in Toowoomba for their advice on spray nozzles and paint.  Without these people, this artwork would not have come about.

______________________________________
Ken Leslie
Walter's Ghost, 2012
Mixed Media
300 x 300 x 600mm (30 pieces)
 

This artwork is unique for me.  Firstly, because installation art is unfamiliar territory for me, and also because a commissioned work has the added complexity of having to fit a vision of other people, not just satisfying my own musings.  Something I’m dreadfully unaccustomed to.  I did, however, very much enjoy the challenge, and ended up creating a flexible installation piece titled ‘Walter’s Ghost’ consisting of 30 plywood boxes, each labeled with a Walter Reid and Company Limited logo from one of three different eras of its existence.  The dimensions of the boxes have significance.  Each is 300 x 300 x 600 mm, the size of an early liquor or wine carton, the major trade of Walter Reid and Co.  The work has been designed to be an echo of the past of the building.  Originally built as a warehouse by Walter Reid around 1900, it has been used as an arts centre since 1977[1], and with each passing year, and each refurbishment, the original purpose and life of the building fades a little more.  My aim is to hint at a trace of the past, to recognise, remember, and celebrate Walter Reid, without whom, we wouldn’t have this amazing building at all.

The Oxford dictionary defines the word ‘ghost’ as ‘an apparition of a dead person which is believed to appear or become manifest to the living’[2].  In other words, it’s a spirit that straddles two plains of existence; not really here, and not really there.  My work does exactly that.  It defines several opposing realms, but doesn’t quite fit into any of them.

The work is obviously a product of modern manufacturing methods; each box is made of 12mm plywood, glued and nailed using a nail gun, yet each one bears the insignia of a company long since closed.  They’re neither modern nor vintage.

Two of the three images are taken from actual company logos, and the other is in the style of pre-20th Century packaging.  On close inspection, you’ll notice that they’ve been applied to the crates using spray paint and stencils, another very modern technique.  They’re neither replicas nor remixes.

The boxes are empty, with no access points for opening.  They will never hold cargo, but have been made a specific size for the transportation of specific goods.  They’re neither useful nor useless.

The crates are made of purely functional, industrial materials, just as they would have been had they been made for transportation purposes.  No effort was made to hide that fact.  But they highlight the beauty of the natural materials, and echo the beauty of the industrial surroundings.  They’re neither functional nor decorative.

The stack of crates (however it’s arranged) will blend into its post-industrial surrounds.  Maybe it’s relics found in the basement, maybe it’s a delivery waiting to be sorted, maybe it’s a historical display, maybe it’s a place to put your drink, maybe it’s an artwork.  They’re neither on display nor part of the environment.

This is a substantial list of what this artwork isn’t!  What it is, and will continue to be, is the spectre of a man who altered the social and physical environment of this region, and a reminder that his actions are still benefiting us today.
 

   


[1] Gistitin, C. (2004) The Walter Reid Community Arts Centre. [pdf] Museum & Gallery Services Queensland. p.1-3 http://www.magsq.com.au/_dbase_upl/gistitinc.pdf [Accessed: 28-10-2012].
[2] Definition of ghost - mythical being, small amount and visual phenomenon. 2012. Definition of ghost - mythical being, small amount and visual phenomenon. [ONLINE] Available at: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ghost?q=ghost. [Accessed 27 October 2012].