From Stella Rosa McDonald…
On the site of the former I.C.A.N in Camperdown, Knulp — an enigmatic masthead that recalls something knobbly like an elbow or the sound of water down a sink but in all likelihood honors Herman Hesse’s novel of the same name — has opened its doors. The artist-run space, conceived and managed by Alex Gawronski, Shane Haseman and Mitchel Cumming has so far shown a mix of group shows and solo presentations from emerging and established artists. A focus on publishing writing in tandem with Knulp’s shows is a stated aim and Bonita Bub’s current solo presentation Hilux is Knulp’s third exhibition for the year.
The replica and its original are Bub’s stock-in-trade. The artist takes industrial objects — a Scissor lift, a skip bin, and now the tray of a Toyota Hilux Ute—and “resolves” them as industrial sculptures, sharpening edges and refining the formal elements of design in subtle and uncanny ways. According to Toyota’s glossary of terms (worth a read) “Hilux” is a combination of “high” and “luxury”, and it is with this term that Bub plays. Severed from its motorized body Bubs’ rebuilt Hilux is a hovering, gloss white steel tray with laser-folded sides, covered with a stretched marine tarp, and propped gift-like on a welded base in the center of the gallery space. With a laser focus on the accidental beauty of its lines, there is an eerie—if imperfect—resemblance to the original. Remade in its own image Hilux synthesizes form and function to draw a parallel between the aspiration inherent in the luxury vehicle and that of the art object.
Until June 14th
Knulp, Camperdown
Pic: Bonita Bub, Hilux, 2015, powder-coated zinc anneal, mild steel rod, canvas and cord, 140 x 20 x 140cm. Photograph by Jessica Maurer, courtesy the artist and Knulp.
