An exhibition of misshapen memories and dark visions informed by a prodigious imagination.
'Ambiguity' is the word repeated often in Stuart Elliott’s discussions about the artworks in his upcoming exhibition. One example he gives is from the original Alien film; is the signal beacon emanating from the unknown planet one of distress or warning? The crew of the Nostromo can only find out by investigating; we are talking high-risk ambiguities here. Elliott commented 'to decode it, one would have to engage the subject.' The title of his exhibition, ‘Facility 2 - BEACON invites us into Elliott’s world, but what is our role as viewer? Is his beacon one of distress or warning? Or both?
‘Facility 2 - BEACON has evolved from Elliott’s exhibition The Facility, first shown at the 2012 Melbourne Art Fair. The series began with a building glimpsed along Gnangara Road, the purpose of which was unclear. It lingered in Elliott’s memory so he travelled back to Gnangara, and its infamous pine plantation on the outskirts of Perth, to view the site once again. The building was gone. He tried to recreate it in models and paintings, to remember its form and to guess its purpose. He noted, "I guess too, the basic premise of the show is that of relative memory, that people's experience, actual or emotional can vary wildly and an extra ordinary experience, particularly one with little precedent, can throw up all sorts of issues in terms of priority and / or detail."
The role of the Facility, the building’s actual function, remains unclear in this exhibition. Even if we did know, the ramifications of its purpose would be ambiguous. Like a scientific experiment, the outcomes could be used for good or evil. And even with good intent, things could go awry... Succulent plant forms occupy some of the buildings and grounds. Their presence is mysterious, are they the result of man’s interference with nature, with genetic engineering? Are they sentient?
Stuart goes on to state, "BEACON is intended to embody this ambiguity. I wanted to set up a quandary as to whether the Facility was a place where some kind of Neo Josef Mengele might ply his trade on botany for dodgy ends... or more open ended, DNA infused research and developments. Plants and animals, can they hybridise for mutual benefit? Or, in the classic scenario, are the inmates (plants) running the asylum (laboratory)? On the bigger stage, can this research lead to universal help, is it just secret research (for whom, secret from whom, to what theoretical outcome?) or has something gone wrong somewhere...like a large, less benign version of the discovery of penicillin? Perhaps these are retro-80's people who have overstated a little with the whole indoor plant thing - the succulent being a good choice for those keen on green but chronically distracted."
Throughout 2012 and 2013 Elliott created sculptural models of the building, each one becoming more tenebrous and bleakly gothic than the last. A 'facility' implies a kind of official status, an architecturally defined, discrete precinct dedicated to a set of nominated activities. Nuclear, training, medical, scientific, defence - all these offer a reason, perhaps a context, but not an explanation. In this show there is the suggestion that the facility intimately involves people, there are few facilities that do not, but not what that involvement might have been nor to what end. Painted studies followed, often using the models for inspiration, and then the inhabitants, inmates and overseers, appeared as separate portraits. The landscapes that housed the facilities are unstable; in one of the major paintings of the show (Tunguskan Facility) an exuberant growth of succulents fills the foreground. In others a fevered spawning of detritus surround the facility lit by sullen skies. A series of battered trucks to service the facility were sculpted, then a causeway for them to travel upon. Three legged chairs were crafted, some sprouting strange plant growths, that seem imbued with the personalities or stories of the facility.
This exhibition could be luring potential visitors, Samaritans or opportunists to very uncertain rendezvous. View at your own peril...
Stuart Elliott is a local award winning artist, writer, curator and teacher. His artworks can be found in most West Australian collections of importance including the Art Gallery of WA, University of WA, Murdoch University, Edith Cowan University, City of Perth, BankWest, Australian Capital Equity, Royal Perth Hospital and many more local councils and private collections.
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- TURNER GALLERIES | showcasing contemporary art
at 470 WILLIAM STREET NORTHBRIDGE WESTERN AUSTRALIA 6003 - TURNER GALLERIES HAS NOW CLOSED.
This website is an archived record of the exhibitions and artwork shown at the gallery. - Turner Galleries acknowledges the Whadjuk Nyoongar people as the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters where Turner Galleries is situated, and pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging.
- Website © 2000-2024 TURNER GALLERIES. All images are © the artists and are not to be used without permission.
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