Beka Hannah "Forgotten Fungi" 9th January - 29th January

On Monday the 9th of January we opened Beka Hannah's magical show "Forgotten Fungi". 

The completely coincidental news reports of two deaths via Death Cap mushroom poisoning added a surprise topicality to Beka's show (the mushrooms pictured below are loosely modeled on Death Caps). Morbidity aside, Beka's show allowed us to enter her wonderful fungus filled imagination. 

Her delicately sculpted, stitched and crocheted fungi wowed the packed rooftop crowd. We look forward to seeing more!

"Forgotten Fungi"

Inspired by fungal forms and how they inhabit space, Beka’s work revolves around the re-imagination of the everyday. Through a craft based practice incorporating clay, found objects and textiles, Beka examines the inherent beauty in fungal forms through small representational objects. 

Most species of Fungus are bioindicators or “indicator species” and thus Fungus plays an important role as an agent of decay in the ecosystem. Despite this fungus is often ignored, through her work Beka aims to recast fungus from something that is often overlooked into something that can be seen as appealing and attractive.

Biography

As multi disciplinary artist Beka Hannah has a diverse practice incorporating everything from textiles and crochet to metalwork, this allows Beka the versatility required to explore her own wonder at the natural world.

After moving to Melbourne six years ago Beka has been frantically studying Fine Art at RMIT University, and exhibiting widely around Melbourne. 

Having recently graduated from the Masters of Fine Art programme Beka is looking forward to spending more time in the studio out the back of her house with her tools, stereo and pet rabbit. 

Richard Denny "The Shipping Forecast" 19th December - 8th January

Just before Christmas we opened the attention grabbing show "The Shipping Forecast" by the gentlemanly Richard Denny. With bold use of Reds and Yellows his work could not be overlooked by the often intoxicated and stumbly "end of year work party" people. We had a great time working with Richard and look forward to hosting him again in the future.

"THE SHIPPING FORECAST"

Weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles are broadcast 4 times daily on BBC radio. 

The unique and distinctive sound of these broadcasts attracts an audience much wider than those directly interested in maritime weather conditions. The forecast has a limit of 370 words. Due to its set rhythm, calm enunciation, and evocative names, the shipping forecast can sound quite poetic. It has featured in songs and poetry as a result. This series of work represent characters captivated by the rhythm of the forecast.

Is the map the territory

Once whilst meandering through the streets of an unusually snowcovered Marseille, Richard Denny discovered an abandoned box of maps. Upon further examination, it was an extensive collection, holding portrayals of most regions of France.

As the overlord of general semantics Alfred Korzybski once said: “A map is not the territory”. This highlights the notion that one can peer at a map, and understand the layout of the land via it, but the map will only ever signify the geography of what is there, never accurately describe its nuances. By deploying the found maps as an actual canvas, and a basis for his characters, Richard Denny has found a means of dripping flavours of personality and territory over the maps.

Using the lines of contour, river, border and road, Richard Denny paints in his own lines, shapes and textures. Later, from these cartographic cross-hatchings emerge characters representing people, daily experiences and settings.

Biography

Richard Denny is a Melbourne-based artist whose dynamic work contained mixed media including detailed vintage maps from around the world, gleaned and collected on his numerous travels and habitations. Since his departure from photography as his chosen medium in 2008, his work has been exhibited in London, Barcelona, Sydney, the Gold Coast and Melbourne.

Cast an eye over Richard's website at isthemaptheterritory.com