Residents in the Spotlight 1 April – 14 April 2013
Paul Williams and Chris Dolman
During their residency period, Chris and Paul developed key concepts and commenced work for a proposed exhibition ‘Pipe Down’, which will be an exhibition consisting of a painting, a print work, ready-made and sculpted objects, artist made tea towels and a two-channel video, which reinvent studio by-products and aesthetic preoccupations through the collaborative process.
This collaborative effort will see Dolman and Williams utilise high and lowbrow materials and ad-hoc methods to examine studio practices and celebrate everyday failure.
By probing the history of non-traditional self-portraiture and blending intimacy with the absurd, this show pokes fun at the artists as the ‘ever emerging’ embracing their own devolution.
Resident in the Spotlight 4 January – 14 February 2013
Samantha Heydt
Sam Heydt is a New York-based fine art photographer, writer, graphic designer and documentary filmmaker with strong academic background – the result of study at universities abroad, such as La Sorbonne, La Universidad de Buenos Aires and Universiteit van Amsterdam.
As a fine art photographer, she has been exhibited twice in the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia, as well as in a constellation of galleries and museums throughout New York, LA and Europe. In the Autumn of 2012, she was inducted into MoMa’s elite foundation of artists: “The Contemporaries”, exhibiting shortly after at Miami Art Basel as one of the youngest female photographers.
During Sam’s time at BigCi, her work continued to explore the phenomenology of the present and mythology of the past.
Sam is exhibiting at SEE MORE JANES - a featured exhibition of the Head On Photo Festival 2013 in Sydney. Opening Night is on Tuesday, May 28 from 6-8pm at Depot II Gallery, Danks Street, Sydney. The exhibition will run until Saturday, June 8th. Artists’ talks will be held on June 1st from 1-3pm.
Residents in the Spotlight 10 November 2012 – 18 January 2013
Yessen Group (Aerin Kim, Min Young Woo, Seyoon Choi)
Yessen is a group of talented Korean musicians selected by the Korean Traditional Performance Arts Foundation to do a 10 week residency in BigCi. During that time they were able to perform for a wide range of audiences (about 13 performances in total) and to introduce Korean traditional music to the Australian public. Their performances, many of which BigCi assisted in organising, ranged from a concert for Bilpin school children to playing to the audience of over 400 at a Red Cross function.
They also collaborated with contemporary Australian musicians and demonstrated a fine ability to improvise and create new contemporary music that was a strong part of their professional development and an important aspect of their BigCi residency program. The location of BigCi on the edge of Wollemi National Park in Blue Mountains had influenced Yessen so much that they even composed new music based on their experience of the unique nature around BigCi.
Resident in the Spotlight 15 November – 5 December 2012
Celina Jeffery
Celina Jeffery is Associate Professor of Art History and Theory at the University of Ottawa and an independent curator.
During her BigCi residency, she had been working on a text and exhibition proposal relating to the following: ‘What are the artistic practices interfacing questions about contemporary ecology as local and global communities grapple with the challenges of sustaining an unsustainable culture of perpetual consumption and energy crises; and what possible practices, processes and methodologies are there within the visual arts to address this?’
It’s been a really useful context for Celina to experience this region, with its staggering vistas, unique, striking geology and dense untouched forests, while she was developing this research.
Residents in the Spotlight 6 October – 12 October 2012
Monique Tippett and Rae Clarkson
Monique Tippett and Rae Clarkson are Western Australian artists whose predominant media is wood. After the completion of a number of large public commissions, Monique was keen to experience the process of working ephemeraly in nature. She and Rae specially flew from Dwellingup, WA to participate in the land art workshop in BigCi and to put in practice their skills, newly acquired during the BigCi artist residency.
Resident in the Spotlight 28 September – 25 October 2012
Nicola Moss
Nicola Moss is a visual artist from Queensland. Her art practice observes and interprets the ecology of Australian landscapes. In BigCi she continued this research with a focus on issues of biodiversity, connectivity, conservation, sustainability and responding to community values. As she was keen to experience and gain some understanding of environments and regions recognised as biodiversity ‘hot spots’ within Australia, BigCi introduced Nicola to local enviromentalists. During her residency she was able to work on her artworks and to take part in specially organised for her by BigCi bushwalks in Wollemi and Gardens of Stone National Parks.
Resident in the Spotlight 27 August – 9 September 2012
Matt Tierney
Melbourne based multimedia artist Matt is a recipient of numerous grants and rewards including 2012 Jump Mentoring Program that helped him, between other things, to do residency at BigCi. Fresh from life performances in NYC, USA, Matt was enjoying the contrast of being in BigCi with its natural sounds of the bush as well as collecting images for his future work.
Resident in the Spotlight 10 April – 30 April 2012
Jessica Birk
Aboriginal artist Jessica Birk (pictured with her mum Lois) came to BigCi in preparation for her solo show “Resilience” that was staged at the Incenerator Art Space 22nd of August till 16th September 2012. Jessica’s three week artist residency program was supported by the Incinerator Art Space and Willoughby Council.
Resident in the Spotlight 4 – 10 April 2012
Ochre Lawson
At the end of her residency Ochre wrote:
“At the BigCi I realised again how finishing a painting within the environment is a direct process that is integral to a fulfilling practice. The process of recurring light at a certain time of day, trying to attain the shimmering of the forest, finding textures, the form of trees and plants and the rhythm of angles and curves and the personal emotion I feel when creating within the landscape, is a process I find exhilirating.” .
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Resident in the Spotlight 18 March – 2 April 2012
Wally McGregor
Wally McGregor (pictured during an historic moment of installing our first street sign) was the recipient of the BigCi Scholarship for the National Art School BFA (honours) graduate. At the Open Day Wally talked about his residency experience. .
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Resident in the Spotlight 16 March – 2 April 2012
Carlotta Brunetti
Internationally renowned Italian born German land artist Carlotta Brunetti created a site specific installation for BigCi. Carlotta also delivered a fascinating lecture about colour and light in landscape at the first BigCi open day. To see Carlotta’s work and other images from the Open Day go to News. .
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Residents in the Spotlight 27 November – 3 December 2011
Alistair Watts, Marian Tubbs and Amilia Groom
Marian Tubbs, Alistair Watts and Amelia Groom took part in the group residency in BigCi. They worked on their individual projects. Marian was writing her PhD on sculpture and making some art work. Alistair had two areas of skill and interest that he was keen to investigate merging in a project. Broadly, these were spatial design and dance. Amelia was doing research and writing her dissertation on Japanese aesthetics.
Resident in the Spotlight 14 – 27 November 2011
Lauren Carroll Harris
Lauren Carroll Harris, an emerging artist from COFA will be at BigCi from 14 – 27 November, focusing on a new body of work for her upcoming solo exhibition at ‘Seventh Gallery’ in Melbourne. She will explore the relationship and sometimes disconnection between the natural world and the human built world. Lauren hopes that the natural setting of BigCi will allow her to develop a direct relationship with the land and explore the contrast between urban living and nature and how it influences us as individuals.
Resident in the Spotlight 1 – 30 October 2009
Mark Bolotin
Mark Bolotin is an award-winning director, multimedia practitioner and the founder and artistic director of Synarcade Audio-Visuals (www.synarcade.com.au). He has created numerous large-scale interactive work including “Emergence: Build Your Own Being” (2007, Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Arts House, Canberra Street Theatre). Mark’s current new multimedia work is a twelve-headed, holographic band called “The Lumiphonic Creature Choir” which was showcased in venues across New York City in 2012. As BigCi’s first artist-in-resident, Mark spent a month on the property writing music and lyrics for the Creatures.
