An immersive, site-specific installation full of textures, colours and playful forms will be unveiled at the Old Cheese Factory this weekend.
Sydney based visual artist Rosie Deacon is undertaking a three – month residency for Bunjil Place Gallery and will present her major exhibition Spaghetti Stack from 5 November to 26 February next year.
Deacon is known for her exuberant, wonder-filled sculptural installations that often incorporate performance elements to encourage exhibition visitors to explore, interact and step outside their daily reality.
Her work engages with the spectacle of obsession and hyper colour absurd animal scenes.
Ms Deacon said the process of handmaking, community and coming together, and 70s through 90s nostalgia are elements central to her work.
“My work resembles large-scale, fictional geographies, inhabited solely by handmade sculptures, exploring states of humanity, feelings of belonging and realms of the absurd,” Deacon said.
As part of the project the artist has been working collaboratively with the local community to make components for this work.
This includes over 100 joey sculptures created by students from Gwendoline Kindergarten in Berwick.
Materials gathered from op shops and art disposal centres, including gifted items and materials that have served their purpose are given a new life in her artwork.
Through her work, Deacon draws upon her memories of the familiarity of handcrafted textiles, including knitted, crocheted, and woven materials that abound into an excessive and wondrous environment within the Gallery.
The exhibition at Bunjil Place will feature Deacon’s larger than life parrot earrings that were inspired by artist Ken Done’s anniversary designs for Arnott’s biscuit tins.
Part of the exhibition shown on the outdoor plaza screen is a new interactive animation inspired by Deacon’s intrigue with 1980’s YouTube aerobics championships and morning television show, Aerobics Oz Style. This interactive work is currently being developed by Deacon in collaboration with Melbourne digital artist Simon Burgin.
Deacon holds a number of accolades for her art, has featured in both local and international solo exhibitions and has been included in group shows across Sydney, Fremantle, Grafton, Newcastle, Bathurst, Brisbane, Townsville, Launceston and Sheffield, UK.
In 2022, Deacon was commissioned a new work ‘House Warming’ to open The Centre for Creativity at Sydney Opera House. Deacon’s work is held in collections including Artbank, Campbelltown Arts Centre and Wollongong City Art Gallery.
