Rocks holding up #16, continues to question how the expectations and agency of materials can be revealed and inverted in sculptural practice through the framework of abfunction - a neologism that identifies a move away from function in the outcomes and production of art. In this artwork, working with glass blowers in a choreographic fashion Coragulac black scoria (from the lands of the Eastern Maar), in conjunction with the hot blown glass produces the unlikely role of the glass bubble propping up the stone assembly.
NTRO Output Category
- Original Creative Work : Visual artwork
Place
Collingwood, AustraliaVenue
Sarah Scout PresentsNTRO Publisher
Sarah Scout PresentsStart Date
2024-04-17End Date
2024-06-01Medium
Coragulac black scoria, from the lands of the Eastern Maar and glassResearch Statement
Since the 20th century, and with the New Materialist turn, materials used within sculptural practice have been understood to have agency. This sculptural work questions how the notion of abfunction (a neologism that identifies the move away from function in the outcomes and production of art), can invert expected material agency within sculptural practice.
Rocks holding up #16 extends an understanding of abfunctional material possibilities in an artwork through the synchronous engagement of Coragulac black scoria, (from the lands of the Eastern Maar) and glass. The process of working in a choreographed fashion with the glass blowers casting the hot blown glass in conjunction with the stone determines the form and assembly of the glass bubble and stone. This produces the unlikely role of the glass bubble propping up the stone assembly.
This artwork was exhibited in the solo exhibition “Rocks holding up”, 2024 at the highly regarded commercial gallery, Sarah Scout Presents. The exhibition received a very favourable review by the well respected writer and academic Scott Robinson in the April edition of ArtsHub, one of the leading national arts bodies. The art work was subsequently acquired to a significant Melbourne private art collector who holds a major collection of Australian contemporary art.
Robinson Scott, “Rocks holding Up Sarah Scout Presents Exhibition Review”, Arts Hub. 29 April 2024, Accessed 16 January 2025.
https://www.artshub.com.au/news/reviews/exhibition-review-simone-slee-rocks-holding-up-sarah-scout-presents-2719765/Size or Duration of Work
45 x 45 x 28 cm 17/04/2024-01/06/2024Affiliation
Simone Slee, University of Melbourne
