Before You’re Famous

BEFORE
YOU’RE FAMOUS.
THAT’S THE
INTERESTING
TIME.

An exhibition of emerging talent…

AUGUST 21 – SEPTEMBER 6
OPENING NIGHT: THURSDAY 21 AUGUST 2008  6: 30 PM

FEATURED ARTIST, PETER DREW
With the framework of artistic theory, Peter Drew explores the inherent limitations of science and reason in providing satisfying explanations to unquantifiable qualities, such as love, passion and innocence. Representing visceral human emotions where mere explanation is simply inadequate, Peter attempts to expose and even question the constraints of science and reason. His main interest is in the shifting borders between scientific reality and scientific fiction, and he makes his point mischievously creating diagrams that both mimic and diverge from post-modernist scientific representation. The appeal of his work lies in the construction of a careful balance of colour theory, scientific rigour and an ironic approach to the glorification of science. In this sense there is an element of unsettling humour in his paintings, revealing the absurdity of absolute reason. Ultimately Drew’s work became a subversive reaction against notions of inevitable progression and post-Darwinian scientific enlightenment, asking viewers to appreciate that emotions can sometimes escape reasonable explanation and life can provide us with a sense of enchantment.

 

FEATURED ARTIST, ERIN SMITH
The origin of Erin Smith’s work lies in her past experiences and childhood memories. Personal diaries filled with endless entries where the words are overwritten time and time again, thus breaking down the meaning of language into its simplest symbolic form. The French use the word personne to  simultaneously mean ‘everyone, no one, someone’. Perhaps it is in this meaning that we may consider Erin’s re-appropriation of words to create her unsettling images of chaotic beauty. Countering this notion of language as a tool, is the exploration of the ambiguous boundary between popular culture and high art, where Smith draws from the diverse iconography of mass society and war supremacy. By adopting popular images, deconstructing, reconstructing and repeating them in a fluid and carefully distorted juxtaposition of typography, Erin creates a visual journal that breaks down and explores the concept of language and its potential for multiple meaning. Her assemblages of weapons of war, sometimes confrontational and disturbing, are beautifully composed, yet they resonate inklings of danger and threat, both physically and emotionally. In a world torn apart by violence, it is the personal and potent use of symbolism that sets the stage for the content of her work. In her own words: ‘ often it is what we do not say rather than what we do say that defines our identity.’  Erin Smith was one of the selected artists in ‘Off The Wall Melbourne 2008’, a section showcasing promising emerging contemporary artists.
 

Diaz-Castillo Gallery is situated at 1126 High Street Armadale 3143

gallery@diazcastillogallery.com