From Sharne Wolff…
‘Golden Rough’ is a phrase usually synonymous with a delicious combination of toasted coconut and chocolate wrapped in shiny gold paper. This show marries the ideas of another talented pairing – Sydney artists, Lauren Brincat and Will French. The artists produced separate pieces for Golden Rough while she was living in Mexico and he in Sydney.
It’s probably appropriate that Brincat’s One Without the Other, a triangle of the musical instrument kind, is the ultimate depiction of two dependent objects. The title took on a personal meaning for Brincat whose acrylic, glass and wood installation bears the same name. The artist’s Mexican sojourn helped her with the inspiration for this piece after she became fascinated with the beautiful handmade signs she noticed all over the country. The work simultaneously draws on ideas of celebration and difficulty.
French’s contribution of three works use a variety of eclectic media but each incorporates his usual mix of humour and pathos. Don’t Worry No One’s Looking is a comment on the experience of young Australian artists travelling overseas in a world where their art is almost universally unknown. The unwanted anonymity also brings freedom. In Self Portrait with Pickles a tiny hand carved figurine cast in alloy and modelled on the artist sits on the bottom of an almost empty jar of pickled gherkins. The jar looks like it’s been removed, alone and past its use-by date, from the back of the fridge. French has literally placed himself in a pickle.
Until March 24
Alaska Projects, Kings Cross
Pic: Lauren Brincat ‘Golden Rough’ 2013 acrylic paint on glass 30 x 30cm. Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery
