We acknowledge the Kaurna, First Nations People of the Adelaide Plains, who are the traditional custodians of the land upon which Cerulean Studio is located. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and recognise the history, culture and spirituality of all First Nations Peoples.
‘Open Inspection’
Sixteen South Australian artists reflect on their individual responses to the theme ‘Open Inspection’, creating works based on their diverse and very personal interpretations. Open Inspection aims to spark conversations about how and where we live, to offer visitors an opportunity to engage with social, political and environmental concerns in ways that are both accessible and motivational.
Opening event 30th July 2.30-5.00pm, then open to 13th August 2023, weekends 11 am - 5 pm.
Our Artists.
Alastair Preece | Alex McLachlan-Kambuts | Anastasia Benveniste | Andrea Sainsbury | Candace Gwyther | Catherine Mackenzie | Chris Small | Elliot Mackenzie | Judith Woolston | Lesley Mould | Mark Borlace| Monique Callery | Ray Davies | Suzy Tilley | Ulyssia Rothwell | Vanessa McDaid
Alastair Preece
Alastair is mainly an ink and airbrush artist. Most recently he has been experimenting with installations. Many of his works explore psychological themes and the human condition.
Alex McLachlan-Kambuts
Since Mid 2020 Alex has made time to be creative. The act of drawing and painting, especially in a group has been a calming presence for Alex over the past few years. In Alex’s words, ‘I have found that giving myself some time out from everyday life has helped me to see things in a different light; see the beauty in everyday things and to keep me grounded’.
Anastasia Benveniste
Anastasia typically works to a large scale, finding comfort in the persistence and commitment of creating intensely detailed abstract works. She is heavily influenced by natural elements such as marble and flora.
Highlights in Anastasia’s artistic journey include studying a semester of fine arts at Yale University and participating in local South Australian exhibitions. Anastasia is the 2023 winner of the Unley Connections art prize.
You Are Here. Unley.
Each individually drawn line represents a member of the City of Unley population. With exactly 39,085 lines present in the artwork, every community member is included and connecting with another member. The overall image is an aerial map of the City of Unley, with the more pronounced lines representing key roads. For example the Duthy St dog leaf is in the top right, the Goodwood/Mitchell intersection in the centre left and the iconic Victoria Ave/King William area under that.
House On The Hill
House On The Hill is a visual story of that mysterious house, typically set back, that never seems to be open for inspection. Small communities pass by and wonder if the tales of the tenants are true, or if the occupants simply enjoy the quieter life.
Andrea Sainsbury
Andrea is an emerging artist. After a period of 3 years of learning through a range of short courses, she is currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Visual Arts at Adelaide Central School of Art. Andrea is exploring (and enjoying) a range of media and techniques including sculpture, mixed media works, oil painting, and drawing. She has a particular interest in the effect and portrayal of light using different techniques.
Candace Gwyther
Candace is an emerging self-taught artist in Adelaide, creating unique and vibrant creations primarily with Oil Paints. Her current style is expressionist abstraction. With fine line work and soft shapes, she explores the relationships of colours and layering. She is currently exploring the tonal shift of colours.
Catherine Mackenzie
Catherine is an emerging artist, practising in Adelaide. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Visual Art at Adelaide Central School of Art. Catherine finds great fulfilment in experimenting with art as a form of social and political expression.
Plastic coffins
The destruction or removal of habitat renders often un-noticed animals homeless or mis-housed.
This installation was inspired by research undertaken by Dr Jennifer Lavers with the University of Tasmania in 2019. Lavers and colleagues found more than 600,000 hermit crabs had died in plastic containers, because they had sought them as homes, on the remote Henderson and Cocos Islands’ beaches. In South Australia, other marine animals such as octopus and leafy sea dragons are also affected by plastic. Catherine has carved these animals into plaster cast from plastic rubbish and distributed them on sand in similar patterns to platic washed ashore on beaches.
Chris Small
Chris is a practising abstract artist with a micro-business called Chris Small Art. She is fascinated by the way we can see time in the marks and colours left on Earth's objects and surfaces. Her work reflects the fierceness and fragility of nature, each piece a palimpsest revealing pieces of what has been. She hopes her work lights the curiosity of the viewer in the same way we pause to gaze at nature. Chris has worked in the housing and homelessness sector and understands, at a personal and professional level, the profound effects of mental and physical wellbeing of having a safe place to truly call home.
Elliot Mackenzie
In late 2020, I starting making pastries for a small cafe in the Adelaide hills. This led to studying patisserie at TAFE and starting my own small batch bakery called Gordi Babka. One thing I learnt about myself in these three years is that I love working with my hands. Fast forward to 2022, I was introduced to pottery. I found that working with clay is quite similar to dough, only gluten free. I’ve been enjoying learning to throw on the wheel, and the art of letting go when things go south, as they inevitably do.
Renovations
Inspired by our unnaturally cultivated greed for new over old, fresh starts over flavour. “Nothing to see here!” the hurried renovations say in a tone which indicates that there is in fact something to see. And there is - glimpses of past lives persist in the cracked walls and peeling wallpaper in the playroom, scratches on the mantelpiece, and a slight depression in the tv room drywall left in the wake of a little person’s wrestling match.
Media: bisqueware sculpture
Judith Woolston
Judith attended the South Australian School of Art studying graphic design which lead to an early career of illustrating, freelance graphic design and then teaching. Since retiring from teaching in 2017 Judith has exhibited widely and was a finalist in the 2018 Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize.
Storm Brewing
Since the 1980’s scientific data has warned about Global Warming. This painting depicts a very special place, a world heritage RAMSAR site, The Coorong. Here, the Murray River merges with the Southern Ocean when there is enough water to keep the mouth open! As people extract more and more water, the system is becoming toxic. Associate Professor Luke Mosley, University of Adelaide, has been analysing environmental data from the Coorong for more than 20 years. This research revealed extremely high levels of salt and nutrients resulting in the loss of aquatic plant and animal species due to toxicity.
Lesley Mould
The phrase ‘Open Inspection’ got me thinking about all the connotations it suggests. The lack of rental accommodation, the escalating house prices, the rising interest rates and mortgage stress.
Exploitation
While travelling in outback WA I came across a mining ghost town with lots of colourful corrugated iron houses. My favourite was the Pink House so it became the subject for my painting ‘Exploitation’. Landlords asking exorbitant rent for substandard dwellings.
Eviction
‘Eviction’ shows the plight of a single mother unable to meet the increase in rent prices. I have always loved the outback colours and especially Russel Drysdale’s work and am consequently influenced by that.
Mark Borlace
I have always like to dabble with art but never took on any pieces with serious intention. But my partner’s cousin Catherine, who owns Cerulean Studio, suggested we consider entering SALA as we had attended some art classes at her studio. I decided this would be a great chance to really think about the art process and practice. The theme of “Open Inspection” was a creative and enjoyable challenge. I have started with acrylic paint and pastels and water colours.
Great Inner City Location
The homeless epidemic is un-Australian yet it is growing to US and European scale here.
All profits from this work will be donated to Foodbank.
Monique Callery
Hi I’m Monique,
I’m based locally in Wayville. I am late to art and have been working with clay as a hobby. In the last few years I’ve become reinterested in my creative side. I felt honoured and scared when I committed myself to this project. The theme 'Open Inspection' is what got my decision over the line. Everyone deserves a roof over their head they can call home, no matter the size. So here I am at SALA with a whole lot of trepidation ... be gentle.
Tiny houses
Good things come in small packages.
Clay and acrylic paint hand-built sculptures.
Ray Davies
I’m Ray Davies and I don’t know whether I’m an artist. I entered this amazing world of art late in my life after retiring. I’ve been painting now for four years but I wish it had been sixty. It’s more than a hobby, more than a passion. It’s become my addiction. I’m not happy unless I can paint for at least three or more hours a day. I love trying all different subjects for my works.
Suzy Tilley
Suzy is an emerging artist who commenced painting when she retired! Her love of life is reflected in the colourful paintings she produces. Suzy is delighted when people purchase her works, and has won several prizes over the past years in multiple exhibitions. Suzy enjoys painting various styles en plein air, abstract impressionist portraits in all mediums - Oils Acrylic Watercolour plus Inks!
Ulyssia Rothwell
Ulyssia is a young local artist with interest in mixed and multimedia styles. SALA 2023 has been an opportunity to use inspirations such as Basquiat, Andy Warhol Doug Bartlett to give an open inspection to the mundanity and absurd nature of day to day consumerism.
Solus and Accompanied
This duo depict the contrast between living alone and sharing space. It is simply an observation, not suggesting one is better than, or more successful than the other. By taking the observational stance, I wanted to invite the viewer to question which they assimilate with, and what thoughts arise when viewing them side by side.
The high-contrast images in Solus reflect the internal and external discussion when living alone. There is often so much happening on the external; conversations, expressions etc. But the internally, hiding in darkness is a ‘womb of thought’. It is the breeding ground for internal discussion. The use of ‘womb’ also references how fertility is often associated with being with another, but ‘womb’ is simply used here as a place for growth of self and creativity.
A busyness is apparent in Accompanied. This shows the fullness, yet chaos which comes with sharing physical and mental space with another. Having another around means reflecting, deflecting and reverberation of talk and emotion. Here is where ‘scattered walls’ can arise through unsaid words and harboured emotions. The image in the bottom right shows someone setting down a plate of food, something which is familiar to living with another. But the adjustment of the camera settings allowed the plate to be blurred so that it is unclear if the plate is being put down or in fact taken away. It is up to the viewer to determine what this plate represents.
When considering presentation, I wanted my work to have a strong element of ‘human touch’ and imperfection. The use of baking paper is sentimental to me as it cements me in a feeling of home and comfort. The collage is built up in layers to create shadow and interest as well as represent the complexity of people.
Both poems end with a contemplative statement. Neither living alone nor with another will ever feel fully complete. And perhaps this balance, yin and yang, light and dark is something we should succumb to. Perhaps we should accept that one cannot exist without the other, rather than one being superior to the other.
Vanessa McDaid
Vanessa is an emerging artist who enjoys creating textured surfaces on which to play with both the overall image and the minute details on the canvas. In this exhibition, she explores the theme of open inspection from different angles. Firstly, she looks at the current housing crisis and its impact on individuals. Secondly, she delves into the way homes speak to us during open inspections, and the affect each set of inhabitants have on the dwelling and its history.
We are numbers
Every house hunter, every homeless individual, every potential renter is a number. A number to the agent, to the landlord, to the vendor and to the government.
The numbers of houses we need. The builders to build them. And the cost to make it happen.
The numbers are simply too big. And there are too many of them.
More than a number
May we always look beyond the numbers to the individuals. Every house hunter is a person, and far too many of them are women on their own.
Though she is downhearted, she has a steely determination which will help her succeed. She is not a number. She is human.
Walls that speak
Do houses have memories? I like to think so.
I have attended dozens of open inspections this year, having been a house hunter myself.
I found myself imagining the family living in the home, and the memories they were leaving behind for me in the walls, the floors and the ceilings.
If the memories could speak through houses, my dream home would be more beautiful than walls and floors. It would be a myriad of colours, textures and the intertwined stories of the people who lived and loved there.
The walls would speak and tell me I am home.
