SHOW OF THE WEEK - CARLY FISCHER

wasted

The ladies of HML are enormous fans of paper-craft, origami, silhouettes, paper-cuts, embossing, we love it all. Ramona even has a thing for quilling. But we seriously love paper when its used as a clever and confounding construction material. And Carly Fischer's new show Magic Dirt, currently on at Craft does this in spades.

Carly is a contemporary artist who brilliantly utilises the medium as both a conceptual and mechanical tool. Making models is not in and of itself new. However playing with the traditional context of model making as starting point for a finished piece of work and flipping it - by using the 'real' piece as the starting point and making a paper model as the finished piece, really is. Especially when said work is so realistic it gets your brain totally twisted up in chicken and egg knots.

Her mastery of mimicry is mental. Upon first sight the gallery space looks like its mid installation, with dirty plastic and green shopping bags strewn among cigarette butts and discarded soft drink cans. Of course under closer inspection the true nature and genius of the exhibition reveals itself. Honed on the visual cues of iconic cinematic representations of the 'outback' from films like Wake in Fright and Mad Max, Fischer deploys the interlopers associative aesthetic and spiritual mythology built around the landscape, contrasting it sharply against the reality of the land as it is actually inhabited. 

The soundscape that accompanies the exhibition continues Carly's collaborative work with Berlin Based composer Mieko Suzuki. Created from both site specific atmos recordings and film score samples it provides a poignant and evocative backdrop to one of this years most profound and compelling exhibitions.

Craft is recording an interview with Carly for their brilliant Craft TV channel, so keep your eyes peeled hear and learn more from this amazing artist. Or in the meantime check out the website for more details. BECK

Magic Dirt by Carly Fischer

Gallery one, Craft Victoria

31 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

September 5 - October 18.

SHOWS OF THE WEEK - JASON HAUFE, SARAH CROWEST

visions of spring

Jason Haufe @ Stephen McLaughlan Gallery

The ladies of HML are big fans of makers seeing out inspiration from multiple sources. Whether it be gardens, food, architecture and in this week's slew of shows, visual art. We refuse to see boundaries between any of these things. Creativity is creativity, inspiration is everywhere right?

encredible multimedia work by Melinda Schawel at Flinders Lane Gallery

New colour ways, materials, thought processes, even settings can really fire up the brain. As the weather gets better it's good to push ourselves a little further afield. Don't forget that every university campus usually has an accompanying exhibition space or two that should be explored on a regular basis. 

Artist Books at George Paton Gallery UMSU

We find that makers of all disciplines can get very caught up in their own media and become a little tunnel visioned. To loosen things up there is nothing better that going to see work in unusual spaces and in unexplored territories. in the same way we recommend spending the odd day or two doing the blockbuster shows at the national galleries. You'll find yourselves refreshed and ready for making new Spring work.

always inspiring Sarah Crowest @C3 Gallery

All the captions have links to the galleries in them so you can grab the details. Some are finishing and some are starting this week so be sure to check the dates and opening times (which fluctuate wildly from space to space as seasoned gallery visitors will know). Happy inspiration trails people, back to more craft based shows next week. RAMONA