Painted Lady: Technology, Nature and The “Butterfly Effect”

Venue: Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
Dates: 5 – 13 November 2009
Cost: Free

 

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Ripple effect

Seven of Queensland’s most gifted female artists have come together for a free street-side exhibition that explores the precarious balance between nature and technology and what’s commonly known as the “butterfly effect”.

Named after the Painted Lady butterfly, this eclectic exhibition will feature video installations, sculpture, stop-motion animation, miniature stage installations, kinetic sculpture, paintings and soft sculpture. The exhibition will be housed in the ShopFront of the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts on Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley and can be viewed 24 hours a day from the street outside.

Curated by local Brisbane artist Dhana Merritt, the exhibition has been designed to encourage viewers to linger and enjoy the complete 10 minute show as a theatrical spotlight moves from installation to installation.

“Bird watching often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are more readily detected by ear than by eye,” Dhana said. “Butterflies on the other hand are silent. You need to really use your eyes and be watching carefully to spy a butterfly. When you do see one, it’s really very beautiful.” she said.

“Like the Painted Lady butterfly, this exhibition is also silent. You really have to stop and look to see the beauty.”

The female artists featured in the exhibition come from a variety of disciplines and include Alice Lang, Camille Serisier, Fiona Mail (Kate Woodcraft and Catherine Sagin), Mariam Arcilla, Michelle Xen and Sandra Landolt.

The exhibition will be catalogued by vinyl lettering on the windows and will tell audiences about each of the works as they become illuminated by the theatrical lighting.

“Painted Lady explores the idea that what you do and say has a ripple effect on yourself and others. We live in a cause-and-effect world that is constantly changing in a series of reactions and natural cycles,” Dhana said.

Production elements in the Painted Lady include:

FIONA MAIL: Through performance, video and custom built structures Fiona Mail studies potential awkwardness of the body and its interactions with space and the viewer.
MICHELLE XEN: Presents colourful paintings, video and performance work combined with her contemporary pop music band, Edge of Colour. Songs are sung and recorded by the artist, then reinterpreted visually through video effects and animated drawing.
SANDRA LANDHOLT: Kinetic sculpture plays with aspects of the “butterfly effect”, namely that certain systems are not predictable, no matter how precise you make the initial conditions.
MARIAM ARCILLA: Mariam’s stop-motion film follows the tale of Milk-Leech, an outstanding hypochondriac whose only trip outside his hole is to get medicine from the Doctor. Today is different however, Milk-Leech is on a hunt for the perfect remedy: the affection of Dr. Eska. Will this be the appointment to end all disappointments?
ALICE LANG: Traces of anonymous bodies were once housed in Alice Lang’s soft sculpture. Second hand jumpers are reincarnated to form an oversized aura cocoon.
CAMILLE SERISER: Camille’s miniature stage installation presents a story weaved with humour, environmental cycles and links to feminism.