A world in a looking glass
The magic and mystery of the everyday is captured in this enchanting exhibition of recent small scale works by nationally recognised artists.
"To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head. Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be, Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
The magic and mystery of the everyday is captured in this enchanting exhibition of recent small scale works by Waratah Lahy, Kendal Murray, Mylyn Nguyen, Leo Robba, and Tinky (Liz Sonntag).
The miniature in art has a lengthy history that dates back to the scribes of the medieval period. Throughout history miniatures have been highly prized as objects of desire, often highly decorative they were worn as personal adornment to pay tribute to a loved one or to display a political alliance. Contemporary artists continue this tradition through scale and in the exhibition A world in a looking glass scale draws our focus through the miniature and captures our attention to find the extraordinary and delight in the unremarkable.
Observations of the everyday inspire Waratah Lahy’s artwork. Lahy is attracted to what is hidden in plain sight and the tiny details that deserve more than a cursory glance. She takes the time to paint these moments and places which draw the viewers gaze to take notice of the often overlooked.
Kendal Murray explores dream-like narratives in her miniature sculptures, her works are like little worlds into themselves where the tiny personalities act out playful and dramatic scenarios imbued with social, symbolic and personal meaning - the viewer becomes a voyeur as they explore these fantasies.
Childhood memories and curiosities inspire Mylyn Nguyen’s art practice, in this series of works she takes a journey into a fantastical world of insects where her wondrous imagination continues to extend the sense of spectacle that intrigues the viewer’s imagination.
Leo Robba explores the Gallipoli landscape with a series of painted tins from the WW1 period. The landscape has always been Robba's muse - he questions and explores the politics, and tradition of the genre and the picturesque. In this body of work meaning goes far beyond the surface of the painting, Robba questions beauty and the deeper human cost of war.
Tinky (Liz Sonntag) creates unexpected encounters with tiny worlds in her street based dioramas. Over the last few years Tinky has been creating alternative worlds in Melbourne laneways for the observant passer-by to explore. Her works add a sense of humour, surprise and wonder to the streets, with unlikely installations on a pipe or window sill, in a gutter, or a hole-in-the-wall, the over looked areas of our cities.
Image credit: Kendal MurraySibling Quibbling 2014, mixed media assemblage, 7.5 x 7 x 8.5 cm.
Courtesy of the artist and Arthouse Gallery.
Click here to view the exhibition catalogue
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