New South Vol 2 - Hazelhurst Arts Centre, Gymea

This show  of sculptures encompasses works by people from Asia Pacific. A lot of the artists are from Melbourne and the work is not all excllent. I have picked out a few good examples of work.

Bonita Bub's 'Painting Carriers' (above) contains I learned works from the gallery's collection. The curator on the floor said that she had actually never seen the works in the racks on display. Which points to the reason I liked this work, it tells a truth. That most art in the world is never shown it just sits in storage.

Nearby Qunxiao Qu's 'Wig Shoes' sat on the floor like contestants in a celebrity dancing show, but without a partner. See above. The shoes were near another work by the same artist, a short piece of text written in neon light. 

Alicia Francovich's 'Techno botanics' took up part of a wall (see above). While other works occupied space in the gallery itself, for example Bub's work or Qu's shoes, Francovich's work is wholly 2D. This makes it suitable for home installation.

Some works are probably not so easy to install in the home, for example Jacquelina Stojanovic's 'A net woven from my own hair' (which is not woven from anyone's hair). See above. I quite liked the abstract intent of this work and its amazing use of colour. The play of bright hues and low tone greys was rather pleasant.

Lara Chamas' 'Dawa Ahmar' (see below) was not so successful. I found this work overdetermined, the exegesis layering so many leanings on the work it could not sustain. When I was there the curator had to warn a visitor away from picking up part of the work, which to me was a sign that it wasn't organic. People didn't really get it. And if you don't read the explanation on the wall you don't get much from the work at all.

This unsuccessful work is about the artist's grandmother's prayer mat, about war in Lebanon. Well that is what the label says. However none of that comes through organically without the label. The meaning is absent in the absence of the curator's word processor. This is a sad fact and it is too common these days.