Artists’ independent visions, concerns, fears and pleasures explored in Transit

Sculptor Michelle Butler’s tissue paper cell structures combine art and science to explore the minute and complex cellular networks within us. Michelle belongs to a group of 26 emerging artists who will showcase their work at Transit 2015 , Southern Cross University’s annual exhibition of graduating visual arts students, when it opens on Friday October 9.

Michelle’s intricate pieces – which include bone fragments, skin cells and viruses - took hours to create.

She said when viewed under convex and concave lenses, each ‘specimen’ bent preconceived notions of the micro turning into the macro, with the cells creeping up the wall from the specimen and onto the ceiling.

“By delving into the material of tissue paper, shaping and cutting the forms then attaching them together with a mixture of PVA glue and water, I discovered in the process of attaching the cells together that, like the actual multiplication of cells in flora and fauna, they were making a form, a body, a specimen,” said Michelle.

“Although these cell structures are not exact representation of 3D cell formations, they give a similar intriguing effect, creating a sense of wonder that excites and entrances those that peer through the looking glass.

“I wanted to explore the meaning of looking deeper, that what we often think that we perceive is in fact just the superficial layer. I wanted to play with my own personal unease at looking almost scrutinisingly into objects. Often the mirage of what we think we know is shattered, that what we know is not what generally is.”

Tim Fry has been a practising artist for the past eight years, working primarily with ceramic sculpture, drawing and installation.

More recently Tim has explored pop art-inspired suburban imagery - still life, landscapes and buildings - to document the personal and analyse broader Australian and global cultures.

“I developed the series ‘Switch’ to explore power poles as symbols of electricity production and its link to climate change,” Tim said.

“The title refers to the need to switch from fossil fuel to renewable energy production. This installation also references the modern way of life which I view as the cause of the climate change threat.

“The power poles are made of ceramic and sit on top of timber plinths made from disused pallets. These 3D forms are accompanied by a 10-metre long cityscape, painted on recycled cardboard.”

Painter Rhiannon McAuliffe has used her portraiture work to explore the psychology of facial recognition through plywood representations of faces.

“Unlike traditional forms of portraiture, my work attempts to break the mould by completely eliminating painting from the equation and combining the processes of drawing and sculpture with light and scientific notion to create a critically engaging body of work,” said Rhiannon.

“I have always been fascinated by how a simple line can convey identity, mood and personality and how even what could be perceived as an apparently simple scribble, if well rendered, can be instantly recognisable as a face by people with a diverse interpretation of visual language.

“My body of work explores contemporary portraiture through an inquiry into how our brains process faces and the neurological phenomenon of 'filling in' by employing a method of drawing known as 'blind contour' drawing (where the artist focuses solely and intensely on the subject and not at the drawing on the page).”

Transit 2015 will bring together 26 student artists to showcase work across a broad range of visual arts media including painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, furniture design, installation and film, reflecting the diversity of studies available at Southern Cross University.

“This year many students are making works that seem mindful of ecological issues,” said Dr Wes Hill, acting visual arts course coordinator. “Artists have traditionally been sensitive to these ideas, but in walking around the exhibition there is definitely a sense that students this year have concern for how humans are impacting on the natural environment.”

“Each year Transit provides a great opportunity to gauge the zeitgeist: to see the big concerns, fears and pleasures of contemporary life, which are reflected in the art. Choosing to study contemporary art, to me, means that you are choosing to follow an independent vision, and you are interested in alternative ways of thinking — that there is more to life than the dominant ideals of our current moment. Being an artist today is also about revealing an appreciation for new forms that might otherwise go unnoticed.”

The exhibition opens on Friday October 9 from 5.30pm to 8pm in the visual arts V block at the Lismore campus. It continues through to Saturday, October 24. The opening hours are 10am to 4pm from Monday to Saturday (closed on Sundays).
Photo: Michelle Butler looks at her tissue paper cell structures under a lens.