SHOW OF THE WEEK - KIRSTEN HAYDON

ice ice baby

A carefully considered installation

Maybe it's this inclement Melbourne winter weather but it seems to be the perfect time to see Kirsten Haydon's Antarctic inspired show Ice Storeroom' now show at Craft Victoria.  It would be my guess that Haydon is an absolute perfectionist (as so many gold and silversmiths are). This is reflected sharply in this very precise show.

encrusted objects look cold to the touch

Every time we've seen her work there has been a level of finesse that makes the ideas feel as complete as the actual work.That accuracy of thinking and of execution is evident in every object, every surface, every well-considered corner of this installation.

wearable work shimmers with icy cool

 If I had found a speck of dust or a stray bead it would have come as a shock, such is the level of control. That's not to say that the show is not without emotion or reaction to the environment it comments on. Sometimes these reactions feel deliberate, sometimes the work emotes despite itself.

objects look lifted from a researchers Antarctic hut

The wearable pieces reflect the intense beauty of a stark landscape, the objects speak more to how humans manage to live, work and document such an inhospitable wild part of the world.

a miniaturised enamelled mug both elegant and evocative

I was mostly drawn to the objects, miniaturised versions of their real world counterparts. Haydon is a highly skilled enamellist and it's such a romantic old world skill it brings and inadvertent poetry, almost a nostalgia to some of the work that I'm not sure was intended. The objects are sweet despite their controlled environment.

poetry and wearability meet

It's a perfect midwinter exhibition, the stark installation acting as a series of huts that pull you through and control the way you navigate. It creates an immersive experience that cleverly transports you into an alternative environment. There is an accompanying publication that further enriches and extends the ideas on show.

Ice Storeroom by Kirsten Haydon

runs until July 26

Craft Victoria

brrr it sure is cold outside.