SHOW OF THE WEEK - JOHN BROOKS

string theory

The ladies of hml have been bangin on about the work of artist John Brooks for some time now. We first saw his work back in 2012 at Counihan Gallery  and he has been on our radar ever since. You can image how excited we were to see his new show at Rubicon ARI in North Melbourne this past weekend. Brooks fuses weaving techniques into his textile based art pieces bridging that invisible gap between craft and conceptual art.

His work is playful, creepy, energising and anthropomorphic. Stare at these fuzzy wonders long enough and you would swear you saw a heart beat or a leg twitch. This small body of work packs a lot of punch both visually and conceptually. Starting with work on the left with the Pantone prediction 2013 of Emerald Green the work then slowly fades and evolves into 2014's Radiant Orchid. The work stands as a kind of strange timeline not just from one year of fashion to the next but a sort of endless amount of time in between.

This one is coming home with me at the end of the show. I'm going through some pretty serious stuff on the home front and I felt I needed a talisman of sorts. This was both a green forest portal and also a little creature/familiar that just sang to me. It's always a pleasure when that happens. The show runs until April 5 and it's highly recommended. It's and interesting space and it won't be my last visit. Brooks' work is also set to appear at this year's Fresh Exhibition at Craft. Supercool.

Artificial Selection by John Brooks
Rubicon ARI
309 Queensbury Street
North Melbourne
(best get the tram up from Elizabeth Street)