Artist-in-Residence at Melbourne Athenaeum Library

My residency at Melbourne Athenaeum Library for Melbourne Rare Book Week is up and running. I'll be in again tomorrow, Monday, July 2 from 10 am - 5 pm and every day until my term ends, all too briefly, on Saturday, July 7. (For opening times, scroll down to my last post).

If you're in the area, do drop in. The infernal building works that have taken over half of central Melbourne, rendering much of it all but unrecognisable, will feel like a world away.

The Lady in the Tower and other Tall Tales

Pictured above L - R: vertical accordion artist books A Tall Tale, Castles in the Hair and Bats in the Belfry, each 2013, pigmented drawing ink on Khadi paper, cloth bound. All three will be exhibited at Melbourne Athenaeum Library during Melbourne Rare Book Week, in keeping with this year’s focus on gothic fiction.

The literary classification of The Lady in the Tower has a special niche in gothic storytelling. The principal point of departure for Bats in the Belfry is the peripheral but pivotal character Bertha Mason, the madwoman in the attic in Charlotte Bronte's gothic novel Jane Eyre (1847). The same character is the protagonist of the Jean Rhys novel, Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) in which Bertha’s original name is revealed to be Antoinette Cosway and the story told from her point of view.

As artist-in-residence at Melbourne Athenaeum Library, I’ll be developing new projects centring on female characters (and in one case, a character who never quite was) from the gothic novels Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley and Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Brontë.

Residency dates: 30 June - 7 July

Library hours: 
Saturday: 10 am - 2 pm
Monday, Tuesday & Thursday: 10 am - 6 pm
Wednesday: 10 am - 8 pm
Friday: 10 am - 4 pm

Artist talk: Wednesday, 4 July 6 -7 pm

Queenscliff Literary Festival 2017

Vertical concertina books, 2013, one-of-a-kind, ink
and acrylic on Khadi paper, cloth bound.
Each book: 20 x 15 cm (open)

The artist's books pictured above are currently on view at Queenscliff Gallery and Workshop in the exhibition, Queenscliffe Literary Festival & Great Authors Print Exchange. The show is part of the 2017 Queenscliffe Literary Festival.

The books relate to the literary classification of 'The Maiden in the Tower'. The primary point of reference for A Tall Tale and Castles in the Hair is the German fairy tale, Rapunzel, famously collected by the brothers Grimm and first published by them in 1812. The story has its basis in earlier tales dating back as far as the 11th century. 

The third book, Bats in the Belfry, draws its primary inspiration from the character Bertha Mason, the madwoman in the attic in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. The same character is the protagonist of the Jean Rhys novel, Wide Sargasso Sea, in which Bertha's real name is revealed to be Antoinette Cosway and much of the story told from her point of view.

The Queenscliffe Literary Festival & Great Authors Print Exchange runs from 3 May - June 12. For full details, visit QG&W's website HERE.

'Tall Poppies' acquired by National Library of Australia

The National Library of Australia has just acquired my artist book, Tall Poppies (pictured below) in addition to numerous Moth Woman Press zines (see previous post). Tall Poppies is one of the Tall Tales series of vertical concertina books, the first of which were exhibited in an eponymous solo show at Hand Held Gallery, Melbourne, in 2013.

Tall Poppies, 15.5 x 16.5 cm (closed)

Tall Poppies (2013, one-of-a-kind artist book, ink and 

acrylic paint, cloth bound, 80 x 15 cm open).

The books were originally accompanied by a suite of miniature paintings. Although finished works in their own right, several of these (including the painting, Tall Poppies) served as working images for the artist books.

Tall Poppies, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 12.5 x 7.5 cm

Below are two views of the Tall Poppies book in early stages of its development. The Ballarat studio hadn’t yet been built; the image directly below was snapped in our sunroom.

Beginnings of Tall Poppies, Ballarat, 2013

Tall Poppies, progress view

The original Tall Tales series was expanded for the group exhibition, Wonder Room at Maroondah Art Gallery, Victoria, also in 2013, which is where Tall Poppies (fourth from right, below) made its debut. 

Whenever I travel to Canberra, a visit to the NLA is always included. When I was last there in late March, I fantasised about one day having some of my own work in the permanent collection. So the acquisition by the National Library of Australia is nothing less than a dream come true.

Tall Tales (2013, one-of-a-kind artist books, pigmented drawing ink 

and acrylic paint, cloth bound, 80 x 15 cm open). 

Installation view, Maroondah Art Gallery, 2013. Click on image to enlarge.