Janet and I are very happy to get this first exhibition up and look forward to the idea of adding to this body of work. The expectations you set yourself are sometimes not realistic!
Your learning curve is steep as the momentum carries you towards the opening. I now know that one may have some grand plans when setting out on a journey like this, but you inevitably question all things right up to the last minute....what to paint, or should it be painting? Then you make the decicion, even after prepping boards and canvas to focus on the drawing, so then you start drawing like crazy..... well into the night. You push so hard you start making little decisions that create diversions and other challenges.
I'm just working with Ink and paper, but you'd be surprised how many drawing are still in my folio in various stages. You have a realisation that you can't frame the lot.
We're lucky we could work together, in the same space. The house had working stations everywhere. At one stage I had three tables going in the front room, one in the TV room, and then I took a corner of the dinning room table too.
Janet was also moving from one jewellers bench to another, we have five in the back studio. She also camped in front of the coffee table, the dinning room table and her workbench at The Cabin. I ended up with my drawing board set up in the back studio as well and we both had our heads down working feverishly leading up to our deadlines.
There were many 2.00am finishes, and Janet kept making right up to the weekend before the Tuesday opening.
But with all that said, we did an impressive amount of hours just to get the pieces together, hung, and in display units. With just one day to get the room ready for opening night, we got help from many different directions; Joanie loaned us the display units, Hass with framing, Ted for the hanging, and important advice, Ben's lighting and projection setup, the Cafe hand delivering coffee.
OPENING, 6pm.
We had posted printed invites to family, friends, students, clients, colleagues.
Some email and facebook invites too.
The room was small, so we arranged to 'open' the show in the theatre lobby.
The event was for 2 hours, and we catered for 40. Our friends at Manakish arranged the food. We had two people to serve wine, thinking if we get 50/60 we'd be ok. Well we ended up with 127 very excited friends. Janet and I asked Lynne Kosky to officiate the opening. Talks were held and then the night was full of mini reunions. The red stickers were up and many people promised to return to have a closer look. So over the two week we had over three hundred intrigued visitors. We chose to man the Gallery as we felt the work was better appreciated with its "raison d'etre" so we were in the space everyday.
FROZEN FIGURES
A JOURNEY INTO SICILIAN BAROQUE
EXHIBITION OF DRAWINGS & OBJECTS JANET MARNELL-BROWN & PAUL W MEEHAN
This work presents a geographical, cultural and historical content, based on research exploring the corporeality of the figure within a specific context, such as religion, family
and ethnicity.
In 1693, in earthquake ridden Sicily, continually devastated by eruptions from Mt Etna, a phenomena has occurred in the effort to regenerate both nature and culture.
Rising like a Phoenix from the ashes, it created a completely unique architectural style pertinent only in Sicily, The Baroque Aesthetic, portraying grotesque fragments of life, yet still embellishing a beautiful interplay of mass and void, light and shade.
This fantastic, swirling, pregnant style, rooted in history, is captured in works on paper with ink by Paul, and in the form of small objects, pebbles and glass separated by time and re-fragmented using age old techniques into wearable pieces of history by Janet. Using images of wrought iron decorations found on doorways, gates and windows she has created a unique series of contemporary jewels.
The show was dedicated to Paul's parents, Tom and Esma Meehan, and the late Roberto Fratini, one of Janet's previous teacher who became a friend to us both, and also with special thanks to Padre Agripino Salerno our very dear friend in Sicily who facilitated this trip in the first place.
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JANET IN THE GALLERY AT GASWORKS ARTS PARK | ANGELA ROBARTS-BIRD GALLERY |
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PAUL AND HIS DRAWINGS |
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THIS DRAWING WAS WELL LOVED, AND WAS THE FIRST WITH A RED STICKER |
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RED STICKER DRAWING, UNUSUAL IMAGE OF AN ARAB IN FRONT OF A CATHOLIC CHURCH |
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JANET'S BEACH PEBBLES FROM THE EAST COAST OF SICILY |
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SKILLED SAW-PIERCING AT WORK |
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GRANULATED SILVER BEADS AND POLISHED GARNET NUGGETS |
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MULTI COLOURED MOONSTONES WITH A UNIQUE SILVER FOCAL PENDANT |
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GRANULATED SILVER STUDS WITH ONYX QUATREFOILS |
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THE LION IS A TYPICAL SYMBOL OF STRENGTH THROUGHOUT SICILY |
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SAW-PIERCING, BARLEY SUGAR TWIST WIRE, BEACH GLASS SHARD, GRANITE PEBBLE, RARE TASMANIAN ZIRCONS AND JASPER BEADS |
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BAULE STYLE EARRINGS WITH GREEN QUARTZ CABOCHONS. FIT FOR A PRINCESS, |
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SAW-PIERCING THE EARRINGS IN PROGRESS |
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SOME OF OUR GUESTS |
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AN EXAMPLE OF PAUL'S DETAILED DRAWING |
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A DRAWING FROM THE SICILIAN SKETCH BOOK, 2011 |
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SIGNAGE IN THE CORRIDOR |
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WHAT A RELIEF!!!!! |