heat wave at refuge

FUTURE PROOF by Jen Rae for REFUGE 2017 at Arts House. Photography by Emma Byrnes.

For REFUGE 2017, the heatwave provides a context to question, what do you know, that you don’t know you know, that we all might need to know in a disaster? 
Artist Jen Rae explored this question through a series of task oriented activities for participant involvement where food is created and experienced in the 24-hour period.  Skill, labour and knowledge-sharing underpinned the interactions and participants helped with designated collaborative kitchen-related tasks whilst talking about food futures. Participants were rewarded with Feral Food trade tickets for their contributions. 
The depth and complexity of Jen Rae’s inspiring Fair Share Fare art projects is difficult to communicate unless you actually participate in one of them as her ideas and concepts are so challenging, immersive and interlaced.
However my job in documenting them requires me to capture not only the breadth of the project but also the small details in order to tell the story . Of course this is the ultimate challenge from the photographer’s point of view and had me on constant alert for any special incidental moments that flashed before me that communicated the project in one gesture or action. 24 hours is a long time for an art project and many moments took place. If you would like to see more images from the project visit Jen’s website here.

And here is a wonderful testimonial from Jen that demonstrates how valuable documentation is to her art practice:

“Working with Emma on Fair Share Fare projects has been a game changer in how the creative works of Fair Share Fare are documented. Her ability to place herself within the artist’s lens means that she captures the moments that matter - the big picture, nuances, subtleties and aesthetics of what can be very complex projects. She listens, comprehends the scope and is always present. Her stealth modus operandi means that she can get behind the scenes and within performances without ever detracting from what is at play between subjects, performers and public participants. I value Emma’s contributions and considered approach, so much so, that I see her as an integral part of the creative team in planning and sharing the story of Fair Share Fare’s work to various audiences.”

a thousand faces of the feminine

One of Merilee Bennett's hand-painted, hand-stitched wisdom doll "goddesses". Photograph by Emma Byrnes

Over the past couple of years I have had the pleasure of working with Merilee Bennett - artist / film-maker / writer / educator / workshop facilitator.
She is a woman of many talents and someone whose company I have come to cherish and love. She is generous, warm-hearted and has that rare ability to exist in the present moment. Much of Merilee's life and art has been an exploration of the archetypal realm and how we interact with that realm in our everyday lives. 

Over her career Merilee has moved seamlessly from painting to film to photography and has, for now, settled in the three dimensional realm of wisdom doll making. She hand-stitches, beads, adorns and paints textile figures inspired by myths and fairytales, paleolithic goddesses, dreams, the natural world and the occasional mystical revelation. Each of these figures, when cradled in one's palm, has a special energy and feeling - they seem to speak of Merilee's own personal journey and inner wisdom.

As she mentioned in a recent interview with Popcraft Studio:

"The Wisdom Dolls started with my menopause doll, to celebrate entering that particular rite of passage. From then I have been listening to their whispers, and following their inspiration...She is everywhere! In seed pods and flowers, and the wind! In the feeling of sun on my skin, or the night sky when the stars are out. In the feeling of my body moving, or the energy within me during meditation. There are ancient stories that speak to me, and ordinary fabulous women around me who embody the archetype of the feminine in so many different ways. It is the grandmothers, the old goddesses, the earth under my feet."

Merilee has an interest in the incredible power of stitching and meditation - of when these two elements are in unison. When speaking of a recent wisdom doll workshop that she hosted:

"The quality of conversation around the table, over the making, as they refined their ideas and we worked out together how they were to create what they envisaged, reminded me of the aeons of women of every culture, working together, sewing or cooking or problem solving or building relationships, building community. There was an element of that feeling as this group stitched and painted and constructed, all the while talking in that free wheeling, looping manner, where technical questions give way to moments of deep emotion and intimacy."

Merilee will present her textile sculptures at the monsalvat residents gallery from 18 january - 19 march. She will also facilitate an art making workshop where attendees will explore archetypes, life narratives and create their own talisman. Spending time with Merilee and her "goddesses" is a privilege and one that I would urge you to follow up during her time at montsalvat. If you get the chance to attend one of her workshops you will find that the time spent will be deeply enriching.

Em x 

exhibitionist

Works on paper with encaustic, oil pastels and oil paint. Photograph by Emma Byrnes

This past year I have started painting classes with a fantastic crew of visually biased folk. My attendance has been sporadic at best - in the fashion that goes with juggling three children, a freelance business, a household, a relationship and a fantastic 3 month family adventure to Vietnam. But in between somewhere I have carved out a little bit of time to paint. I have already written about how good these classes make me feel. Several months ago our teacher, Sarah Tomasetti, proposed that we all work towards a group show. She felt that it would be a worthwhile exercise to: "Go for it! Live dangerously! A little pressure can be a good thing and exhibiting is exciting."
Well I must say that I feel a little apprehensive about this first showing. I wouldn't say that exhibiting is the main drive behind my yearning to paint and I am not sure if I have given the exercise enough time and space. But as someone pointed out to me the other day it is the beginning of "a conversation" that I hope to have for many years to come. And as circumstances have it I don't have much time and space - my work reflects that. It is abstract, it is gestural and has an almost urgent quality to it.  One thing is for sure though. This painting business is getting under my skin - for me it is not really about the outcome but the process. My cohorts in the show have great talent. I blush a little hanging my work beside theirs. But at the same time it feels like I will be overcoming a great hurdle next week when the show opens. I have given myself permission to put brush to canvas and there is no stopping this urge now!
Details of the show listed below.

Em x

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Common Ground at Tacit Contemporary Gallery
Group Show
Galleries 1 & 2
9 - 27 November 2016
Opening Wednesday 9 November, 6.30-8pm

FEATURING: Emma Byrnes, Jason Fitts, Alexandra Irini, Bronni Krieger, Mary Martin, Nicola Reavley, Kim Roberts & Katherine Westfold

"The common ground shared by the artists in this exhibition is the mysterious drive to interpret the intangible through making an image, whatever the obstacles.  This drive is as old as humankind and emerges in unlikely places. 
These artists have come together in two groups to work on the task of finding and teasing out the thread that once woven becomes the fabric and meaning of ones own visual language.    
There are of course, influences and precedents, but each starting point is the artists own, paradoxically found whilst groping in the dark, bringing together the play of materials and gesture until the image finds its resonance with an interior state.
Dialogue with others in the group has been important; considered, critical and supportive, exposing the work to its first audience and taking on the challenge to risk and extend ones working vision.  Bearing witness to the ebb and flow of another’s creative process illuminates the darker recesses of ones own, and therein lies the subtle catalysing effect of the group.  
It has been my pleasure and privilege to work with each and every artist in Common Ground."

- Sarah Tomasetti, 2016

space + craft

Photograph by Emma Byrnes

I was recently commissioned by long-standing Melbourne printmaking studio - Spacecraft - to formulate a visual strategy for their brand; produce a bank of images for use on their website; and host in-house training for their staff on maintaining a strong, cohesive style for their daily social media needs. Considering my history as co-founder of Harvest Textiles screen-printing studio; having worked in communications/media for many years; and my love for all things visual - this was a dream brief!
What an incredible small business Spacecraft is and a real life example of small-scale, local production. I spent time getting to know their dynamic approach and running between their print studio and Gertrude Street store, taking photographs as I went. The small team screen-print all of their textiles in their Collingwood studio, then walk the fabric up the road to their beautiful Fitzroy store, where their in-house sewing genius, Rosie conjures it up into homewares or clothing. Then it is ready to place in the store for sale. They also undertake loads of collaborations with artists which keeps things interesting for the whole team. It was an absolute pleasure spending time with such creative and cohesive folk - they have such a strong spirit and a dedication to handmade and locally-made artisan products. 
The image above is of Stewart and Danika from Spacecraft hand-printing a Northern Rosella from their Ornithology series. As part of the studio work process, the table backing cloth also takes impressions from each and every print, slowly unfolding as it's own, stand-alone artwork - layers and layers of labour and love. Just wonderful work.
The results of my strategy job will roll out over the next few months and I am excited to watch the brand begin to truly communicate their elegant aesthetic.
Em x

feeling free

Photograph by Emma Byrnes

Ever since I was a young high school girl forced by curriculum-obsessed teachers to take physics and chemistry electives rather than art and painting I have harboured a burning desire to stand in front of a blank canvas brandishing a brush.
And late last year, after many years of procrastination, I finally took the plunge and started evening oil painting classes. To begin with I floundered about - despite having worked in the visual mediums of design, textiles and photography for many years. It felt like I had waited so long to give my right brain absolute permission to play and be completely free, that I had locked myself out from a true artistic practice. But eventually my logical thought process surrendered. An abstract, gestural style stepped up to the easel and with the help of my marvellous painting teacher, Sarah Tomasetti, I began to find flow.
I still can't quite believe how good it feels to paint. Forget yoga. This is my new medium for deep relaxation. Mixing the colours, scraping the palette knife, feeling the canvas under my brush. Losing track of time and all thoughts...being in the moment as the work takes shape. Standing back and assessing the mark-making. Seeing what translates onto the canvas when the analytical mind is cast aside and intuition takes over.
I sense that this is a new chapter for me and my creative journey. I can't see myself giving this up. Who knows where it will take me but for now I am happy just using it as a dedicated time each week to cast aside my thoughts, preconceptions and fear - to live in the moment.

And just in case you were wondering if this is a photograph of me?
No, it isn't. I haven't quite managed to get to that standard in such a short period of time :-) 
This week I've been documenting the beautiful, powerful yet delicate work of my painting teacher, Sarah, as she gears up for her exhibition at Beaver Galleries in April. A show well worth seeking out.
Em x