2.1 MFA 2024

February Seminar and Patrick Lundberg's eybodey exhibition.

I spent the summer testing out some new materials in smaller works. The resulting pieces were investigations into the ability of small work to hold space. The new materials were painted felt (used structurally), some gel mediums, mesh, handmade paper, aluminium, and rubberised paint.

In making these works I was thinking about the idea of diaspora – the scattered tribe. Each piece made up of parts from various places, holding themselves together, and unified by an external monochrome skin. They co-exist with each other and the architecture of the space. 

These were the more successful ones.

I think they work because they have a lighter touch. They feel less conceived and more perceived.

These next ones didn't work as well and maybe went a step too far. Tried to hard. They feel weighty. The very dark blue (looks black) and very pale blue (looks white) were colours that would have worked on a larger piece but didn't have enough surface area to in a smaller scale to create much tonal variation. The pinkish one is weighed down by too much surface treatment, and the greenish one felt a bit pedestrian.

Certainly, working in a smaller scale allowed me to be more playful and experimental. There was less at stake. I'd like to try and carry that attitude through to making much larger work.

I didn't put much thought into installation, in the spirit of just sharing some new work rather than presenting work for a critique. I really just recreated how they were on my studio wall. If I had more space I would edit down the number of works and give each piece much more space to itself on the wall.

Patrick Lundberg, eybodey.

On the final day of the seminar, I went to the opening of Patrick Lundberg's show titled eybodey at Ivan Anthony gallery. He has confidence in letting very small work hold space and draw in the viewer. They gather the space into them.

Patrick Lundberg, eybodey, 2024, installation view at Ivan Anthony Gallery.

Patrick Lundberg, no title (6), 2022, acrylic on linen and cardboard.

It was a great lesson to see the way that very small work can hold space, not just in themselves but in the context of the gallery.