topographic 1: a site-responsive exhibition at g8 on george, galleryeight’s pop-up satellite space. Exploring various layers of history, place, uses and misuses of The Rocks area through sculpture, installation and performance. A sense of history and memory permeates this area beneath
the constant renovations and developments on its surface. Several artists in
topographic 1 playfully touch on issues relating to architecture - particularly
renovation, demolition and abandonment. Others disregard the concrete and take
flights of imagination fusing a personal experience of place with fact and
fiction. Curated by Kath Fries and Peter Cramer.
 |
Kath Fries, Bogong Arabesque, 2012,
(detail view), feathers, aluminum
flyscreen and pre-existing hole in the ceiling
|
Kath Fries, Bogong Arabesque, 2012, feathers, aluminum flyscreen and pre-existing hole in the ceiling. Tumbling down through the ceiling, spirals of flyscreen and feathers hover mid-movement overhead. Inspired by flocks of seagulls glimpsed at night circling high above the harbour bridge, where they feast on breeding bogong moths attracted to the pylon lights, this poetic installation considers notions of flight, freedom and entrapment.
Kath Fries has a Masters of Visual Art from Sydney College of the Arts and won the 2010 Japan Foundation New Artist Award. She has exhibited recently at galleryeight, Millers Point; Gaffa Galleries Sydney, The Lock-Up Museum, Newcastle; and Strand Ephemera, Townsville.
 |
Sarah Nolan, Thank goodness for the bans, 2012
laser cut plywood, acrylic paint and fabric
|
Sarah Nolan, Thank goodness for the bans, 2012, laser cut plywood, acrylic paint and fabric. This text based sculptural work stands vertically like a
horizon of skyscrapers. It refers to the green bans that resulted from
community and BLF protests in the early 1970s, which preserved heritage
buildings from demolition and successfully prevented large scale high-rise
development in The Rocks.
Sarah Nolan has a background in graphic design and has
recently been exhibiting text-based sculptures in Slot gallery, Redfern; Hidden
Sculpture Walk, Rookwood; Gaffa Galleries Sydney and Index Space, St Peters.
 |
Thomas. C. Chung, "Do you remember us?", 2012,
(detail view), yarn and acrylic stuffing |
Thomas. C. Chung, "Do you remember us?", 2012, yarn and acrylic stuffing. Builders' masculine and dangerous tools of trade are
re-presented as soft colourful knitted objects, playfully commenting on the
constant construction work in The Rocks.
Thomas C. Chung studied at College of Fine Arts, Paddington;
and has recently exhibited with James Dorey Project Space, Potts Point; Gaffa
Galleries Sydney and Galleri Darbu, Oslo, Norway.
 |
Sophia Egarchos, Echoes (table series), 2012,
acrylic paint on found object
|
Sophia Egarchos, Echoes (table series), 2012, acrylic paint on found object. These triangular forms are reminiscent of the Opera house
sails. The bright colours and geometric patterns reflect the fashions of 1973
when the building was completed, and also reference the two previous Vivid
festivals where coloured patterns were projected on the Opera house sails.
Sophia Egarchos has a Masters in Visual Arts from Sydney
College of the Arts, Rozelle and she has recently exhibited with SNO Projects,
Marrickville; Peloton Gallery, Chippendale; and Artspace Studios,
Woolloomooloo.
 |
Mark Booth, ARROW.100 series, 2011-2012,
(detail view), U-PVC pipe and acrylic paint
|
Mark Booth, ARROW.100 series, 2011-2012, U-PVC pipe and acrylic paint. Referencing the MCA’s new building infrastructure and its
air conditioning system that recycles water directly from the harbour, these
PVC pipe sculptures coil inside themselves - suggesting an insular
anthropomorphic self-sustaining exchange of fluids.
Mark Booth studied at the University of West England and the
National Art School, Darlinghurst. He has exhibited with Dickerson Gallery,
Woollahra; Factory 49, Marrickville; and Firstdraft Gallery, Surry Hills.
 |
Angela Griffiths, Trig E, 2012,
(detail view), porcelain, LEDs and rock |
Angela Griffiths, Trig E, 2012, porcelain, LEDs and rock. The trig station at the top of Observatory Hill is used
to map out and survey the surrounding area. Here it is recreated in porcelain cones and
lights, to consider ways that we find a sense of place both immediately on the
ground and out in the universe amongst the stars.
Angela Griffiths has recently exhibited in Sculpture by the
Sea, Bondi; Primrose Park, Cremorne; and Sculpture in the Vineyards, Wollombi,
The Hunter Valley.
 |
Linden Braye, Authorised personnel only, 2012, (still from video), video
|
Linden Braye, Authorised personnel only, 2012, video. Surreptitiously filmed through a letterbox slot, this video
explores the interior of a local derelict building. Small interventions subtly
animate this space frozen in time, prior to its inevitable gutting, renovation
and development into prime real estate.
Linden Braye has a Masters of Visual Art from Sydney College
of the Arts, Rozelle, and she has recently exhibited at Articulate Project
Space in Leichhardt.
The artist would like to thank Peter Cramer for editing this
video.
 |
Michelle Heldon, Capsule, 2012,
wood and mixed media on perspex
|
Michelle Heldon, Capsule, 2012, wood and mixed media on perspex. The novel, Playing Beatie Bow, marks a point of departure
for the artist's exploration of the historic alleyways in The Rocks.
Accumulating daily with plein air perspex drawings, these layered recordings
invite the viewer to explore a personalised sense of place, fusing fact and
fiction. You are invited to lift individual perpex drawings out of
the box and re-insert them in different orders, thus rearranging the layers and
altering your viewpoint.
Michelle Heldon studied at National Art School, Darlinghurst,
and has exhibited recently at Gaffa Galleries Sydney and Kemijärvi,
Lapland-Finland.
The artist would like to thank Shaun Thodey for his
assistance with the construction of this work.
 |
Matt Busteed, Anthropocene 3 and 4, 2011,
ripped street posters on board
|
Matt Busteed, Anthropocene 3 and 4, 2011, ripped street posters on board. Street posters pasted up on scaffolding surrounding local
building sites, have been torn down to expose their under-layers. Collaged
together this debris together forms a tactile intriguing commentary on
development and transience.
Matt Busteed has a background in graphic design and is
currently completing his honours year at National Art School, Darlinghurst.
topographic 1 continues until 13 June 2012
g8 on george: galleryeight’s satellite pop-up space
2.06 / 140 George Street, The Rocks, NSW 2000
Open 12-6pm daily and til late during Vivid
galleryeight would like to thank The Rocks Pop-Up, Parramatta Artists Studios and all our volunteers. The Rocks Pop-Up is an initiative of Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority to find creative uses for temporarily vacant buildings, attracting new visitors to Sydney’s historic heart. http://therockspopup.tumblr.com
.jpg)
%2BWhite%2C%2BBRANCH%2B3d.jpg)
.jpg)
