Kyoto - bandaged trees


Kath Fries, Kyoto bandaged tree i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto bandaged tree ii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto bandaged tree iii, 2011, photograph


Kath Fries, Kyoto bandaged tree iv, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto bandaged tree v, 2011, photograph
My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.

Kyoto - stones and moss

Kath Fries, Kyoto meticulous gardening i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto moss shadow i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto moss shadow ii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto stone's throw, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto meticulous gardening ii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto encroaching shadows i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto moss shadow iii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto encroaching shadows ii, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.

Kyoto - lotus ponds

 
Kath Fries, Kyoto lotus pond i, 2011, photograph 
Kath Fries, Kyoto lotus pond ii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto lotus pond iii, 2011, photograph



Kath Fries, Kyoto lotus pond iv, 2011, photograph



















My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.


Koyasan - temple gardens

Kath Fries,  Koyasan - rock garden and pine needles i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Koyasan - rock garden and pine needles ii, 2011, photograph

Koyasan serene mountain temple town
housing meticulously maintained gardens
inviting calm contemplation
offering glimpses of ways 
to patiently approach 
an understanding 
of transience and existence

Kath Fries, Koyasan - Mottled wall, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Koyasan - fringe of moss and sand, 2011, photograph


Kath Fries, Koyasan - message stick, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Koyasan - tree brace i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Koyasan - tree brace ii, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.

Koyasan - Okunoin cemetery


Kath Fries, Okunoin trees and headstones, 2011, photograph

Cradled high in the misty mountains 
is the secluded temple town of Koyasan.
At the eastern end of which
encased in mossy peaceful shadows
lies the expansive Okunoin cemetery.
A revered and sacred site
marking both the beginning and the end 
of an ancient Buddhist pilgrimage, 
like the ensō circular nature of existence.

Kath Fries, Okunoin giant tree brace, 2011, photograph


Kath Fries, Okunoin hollow tree and stones, 2011, photograph




Kath Fries, Okunoin miniature world, 2011, photograph
 (the bib was placed on the tiny Buddhist deity statue
in a prayer ritual relating to child mortality)

Kath Fries, Okunoin fallen tree and headstones, 2011, photograph


Kath Fries, Okunoin spider webs, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Okunoin logs ringed with moss, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Okunoin charcoaled fence, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Okunoin growth rings and wishing coins, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Okunoin weight of time, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Okunoin void, 2011, photograph


My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program. 

Oyama - leaves and shadows

Kath Fries, Oyama, 2011, photograph

Another very hot day in Japan. 
At Oyama a branch grew over the top of a bamboo fence. 
The bright midday sun created beautiful shadows.

Kath Fries, Oyama, 2011, photograph

Japan

I'm writing this from Tokyo - my return flight is thanks to the 2010 Japan Foundation New Artist Award, which I won with my Facetnate exhibition Grove. I've just begun a three week journey around Japan to see art and be inspired. As well as Tokyo, I plan to visit Kyoto, Kyo-San, Naoshima, Hiroshima, Mt Aso and Yokohama Triennale... zooming around the country on the super speedy shinkansen bullet trains, with a JR (Japan Rail) pass thanks to the ArtStart grant program. 

A map of Japan


Applications for Facetnate 2012 close on 30 September - all artists and curators who can see an element of Japanese influence on their practice should consider applying. I highly recommend this chance to work with the Japan Foundation, for me it was a great experience and an valuable learning curve in my professional practice. 

Hold dear, 2011, bronze magnolia branch version

Kath Fries, Hold dear, 2011, bronze magnolia branch, nylon netting and charcoal,
dimensions 200 x 600 x 300 cm

Hold dear reflects on the grieving process; particularly the challenge of letting go of loved ones after they pass away. The work focuses on a magnolia branch cast in bronze alluding to our human attempts to render permanent a tree’s natural state of flux - to grow, bloom, die-off, disintegrate and regenerate. The bronze magnolia branch protrudes out of the wall, it’s shape conjures associations with the aging human body, gnarled joints and textured skin - a visual record of a life lived, challenges endured and experiences weathered. As such, the nylon netting dragging the mound of charcoal across the floor suggest our human attempts to resist death and the anticipated prior natural course of aging.


Kath Fries, Hold dear, 2011,
bronze magnolia branch and nylon netting (detail view)


Hold dear, is a new version of a work by the same name first exhibited at Hidden Sculpture Walk in Rookwood Cemetery earlier this year. This version, with the bronze branch, was created specifically for the Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Artists Travel Scholarship Finalists Exhibition, on show until 23 September 2011 at SCA Galleries Rozelle.


Kath Fries, Hold dear, 2011, detail view of bronze magnolia branch

This magnolia branch cast directly into bronze, marks my first venture into the world of bronze casting. Many thanks to Matt Crawford and the team at Crawfords Casting for being enthusiastic about my project and allowing me to watch the bronze branch be constructed and finished in the foundry.

Kath Fries, Hold dear, 2011, detail view of netting and charcoal on gallery floor

Swash - rope, feather and high-tide installation


Swash was created for Strand Ephemera, a ten day sculpture walk event in Townsville, Queensland Australia, September 2 - 12 2011.

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011,
rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long

The work spanned 200m tracing the area just above the high-tide mark across the sandy beach between two small headlands.


Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long

'Swash' is a meandering path of feathers tracing the high-tide mark. The word 'Swash' means splash or spray area above the high-tide mark but it is not a fixed demarcation, it moves with the littoral drift affected by weathering, human coastal development, storms and the passage of time. This line of feathers fluttering in the breeze, vulnerably dwarfed by the length of beach and nervously just out of reach of the enormity of the ocean, compels viewers to anthropomorphically see the feathers embedded in the sand as themselves standing so small against the forces of nature and the passage of time. 
Kath  Fries, artwork statement 2011


Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200, long

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011,
rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and high-tide mark, (detail)

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011,
rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011,
rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long
(detail view of section where the tide washed over the work)

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and
high-tide mark, 200m long, (early morning)

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and
high-tide mark, 200m long, (sunrise)

2011 Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Artists Travel Scholarship - Finalists Exhibition


I'm one of five finalists in the Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Artists Travel Scholarship. Our work is being exhibited at Sydney College of the Arts Galleries, 8 - 23 September 2011.

The scholarship celebrates a bequest of the late Renee Fauvette Erdos in memory of her mother Fauvette Loureiro, the eldest daughter of artist Arthur Loureiro. Recent Sydney College of the Arts graduates can apply for a scholarship of $28,000 to further their visual arts practice and professional development in international environment. 
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