Art et al.: Exchange, Engage
Res Artis Project Space, 44 Glasshouse Rd, Collingwood, Victoria 3066
June 21 - July 25, 2024
Thurs–Fri 12–5pm
Art et al: Exchange, Engage is an exhibition and accessible digital document highlighting a series of collaborations and partnerships funded by Creative Australia. In line with Art et al.'s ethos of championing a more inclusive contemporary art world, Art et al: Exchange, Engage exhibits neurodivergent and learning disabled artists alongside their non-disabled peers. The focus of the exhibition is work produced during four Peer/Peer Collaborations – digital residencies pairing international artists with and without disabilities, and Art et al.’s Curating Collections initiative, which partners an artist working from a supported studio with an established collector or collection to curate a digital project from their collection.
The artists in the exhibition include Melbourne-based Paul Hodges, an artist with Arts Project Australia who collaborated with Indonesian artist Mutia Bunga; Indonesian disabled artist Winda Karunadhita and Mawarini, an Adelaide-based Indonesian-born artist, designer and animator; Clemens Wild, a Swiss artist with Atelier Rohling and Australian artist Harriet Body; and the final collaborating artists are Hena Alexanda Lane Dupreez, an Australian artist with DADAA and Swiss artist Gabi Deutsch. The Curating Collections artist was Swiss artist Philomena Heinel from Atelier Rohling who worked with Melbourne based collector Dr. Michael Schwarz. The exhibition includes a selection of work from his collection including by Arts Project Australia artist Michael Camakaris - who participated in Art et al.’s very first Curating Collections. The collaborations explore themes such as hybridity, friendship and care, and the works include drawings, animations, textiles and ceramics.
The Res Artis Project Space is accessible via the rear of Gertrude Glasshouse Gallery, and is not wheelchair accessible.
Exchange, Engage Installation images below. Courtesy Arts Project Australia.
Exhibition Walk-through Video
Press the red play button to see a video of the Exchange Engage exhibition.
Below we share with you the collaborations that are showcased
Peer/Peer Collaboration 9 / Mawarini and Winda
For our 9th Peer/Peer Collaboration, Indonesian disabled artist Winda Karunadhita collaborated with Adelaide based, Indonesian born artist Mawarini. Winda and Mawarini decided to exchange drawings, with the other responding in a way they chose to, all around the theme of ‘friendship’ and what it meant to them. Each week, alongside chatting daily on What’s App about their love of Japanese culture, floral designs and cats, they sent artworks to each other in the post or via email for the other to add to.
Winda and Mawarini were both in the same country at the same time, due to Mawarini’s travels, so they became the first of our Peer to Peers to meet in person, not once but twice. The in-person meet ups adding to their bonding, with Winda stating, “I wanted to show about our friendship and show that everything becomes easier and more beautiful when we have good friends.” The resulting works were beautiful and varied, including paintings on canvas, drawings, papercuts, digital works, and even a printed zip bag utilising a collaborative digital design.
Curating Collections 6 / Philomena Heienel and Dr. Michael Schwarz
Swiss based disabled artist Philomena Heinel who attends Atelier Rohling, collaborated with Melbourne based Collector Dr. Michael Schwarz for our sixth Curating Collections project. Curating Collections commissions disabled or neurodivergent artists to curate projects with artworks from an established international collector or collection. Philomena and Michael connected over Zoom, with a shared interest in animals and nature. It often seemed like the art took a back seat as we heard about the adventures of each person, most notably Michael’s recent trip to Antarctica! Sharing their interests and family life helped to create a lovely bond, alongside delving into Michael’s extensive collection at home of mainly Australian and New Zealand based artists.
They decided to focus on three main themes that Philomena brought together in a collection titled ‘Michael’s Colourful and Bold Art World.’ The themes were animals, flowers and things that were a bit scary, but not too sinister! Alongside her selection, Philomena created new artworks, some of which you can see here. In the digital e-booklet, Philomena wrote short poems or stories to go alongside each of her selected works, giving you an insight into her world and way of thinking.
Peer/Peer Collaboration 13 / Gabi Deutsch and Hena Alexa Lane Dupreez
For our 13th Peer/Peer Collaboration, Hena Alexanda Lane Dupreez collaborated with Swiss artist Gabi Deutsch. Hena works with the studio DADAA in Western Australia. They kicked off their collaboration by sharing images of their local environments. Initially Gabi and Hena were making drawings inspired from each other’s landscapes, but over the chats and sharing works, the collaboration began to form an exciting ‘ping-pong’ style where the artists continued to develop ideas each expanding on the artists’ new work presented during the online meet-ups.
Inspired by one of Hena’s geometric prints and an image of Western Australia, Gabi made two ceramic sculptures. Hena then made a series of small scale drawings inspired from Gabi’s forms. Everyone loved the imagination behind Hena’s drawings, so Gabi sent him photographs of her unfired ceramics. Hena printed them and drew designs on top to inspire Gabi’s glazing process. In addition to the drawings and ceramics that were co-inspired across Hena and Gabi’s practices, they had the idea to combine their work by making a collaborative lamp. In keeping with their ‘ping-pong’ style, Hena provided ideas for Gabi’s sculptural base and Gabi gave feedback on his preparatory drawings for the lampshade.
Peer/Peer Collaboration 10 / Harriet Body and Clemens Wild
For our 10th Peer/Peer Collaboration, Swiss artist Clemens Wild collaborated with Harriet Body, an artist based in Canberra, Australia. Wild works with Atelier Rohling, a studio based in Bern. During the first Zoom meeting, Clemens and Harriet shared examples of their artwork. They had in common an interest in memories, women’s labour and care. Clemens and Harriet continued to be inspired by socially engaged art, ideas of care and community, but documenting the labour of women remained central. They also had in common a passion for line, and in particular, how as artists, they have different approaches to making lines via drawing and embroidery.
They decided to make collaborative works with tablecloths. For them, the idea of tablecloths represented family, history, narrative, and a place for sharing and gathering.The framework was that each artist would find a tablecloth and contribute to it creatively. The contributions were to be open-ended but also respond to the recurring themes of women’s labour, community, and memories. After both completed working on their tablecloths, they shipped them internationally to the other. Once received, each artist then added another layer of creativity to the tablecloths, so that both textiles were completely collaborative.
Peer/Peer Collaboration 8 / Mutia Bunga and Paul Hodges
For our 8th Peer/Peer Collaboration, Indonesian artist Mutia Bunga collaborated with Paul Hodges, an Australian artist with Arts Project Australia. From February through May 2023, and across the international time zones of Australia, Indonesia and the United Kingdom, Paul Hodges and Mutia Bunga connected over Zoom. Joined by Art et al.’s co-founder Lisa Slominski, Ketemu Project’s Sidhi Vhisatya, Art Project Australia’s James McDonald, and at times, Jessica Justin Tabah (who designed the Hybridity e-zine), Paul and Mutia shared their artwork and process, deciding on the theme of ‘hybridity’ after several conversations. From here the framework of the collaboration came together with both artists working in their studios to create a series of small drawings to be made into a stop-motion animation embracing hybridity.
Hybridity, in its most essential form, means mixture. For this Peer/Peer Collaboration, creativity drove the formation of otherworldly hybrids. Exuberant forms brimming with figurative and botanical elements formed this body of work, e-zine and final animation. Led by Mutia, she combined her vibrant and ethereal semi-abstract watercolours with Paul’s figurative drawings, including details of body parts and animals.
