Saturday, September 28, 2013

When Rainforests Glowed – The Prehistory of Mankind
Retrospective ArtCloth Exhibition@Eden Gardens

Marie-Therese Wisniowski

Preamble
My artwork has appeared in a number of exhibitions which has been featured on this blog spot. For your convenience I have listed these posts below.
ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions (Marie-Therese Wisniowski - Curator's Talk)
Sequestration of CO2 (Engaging New Visions) M-T. Wisniowski
Codes – Lost Voices (ArtCloth Installation) M-T. Wisniowski
Unleashed: The Rise of Australian Street Art (Art Exhibition) Various Artists
Merge and Flow (SDA Members Exhibition) M-T. Wisniowski
The Journey (Megalo Studio) M-T. Wisniowski
Another Brick (Post Graffiti ArtCloth Installation) M-T. Wisniowski
ArtCloth Swap & Exhibition
My Fifteen Year Contribution to the '9 x 5' Exhibition
When Rainforests Ruled (Purple Noon Art & Sculpture Gallery) M-T. Wisniowski
When Rainforests Glowed (Eden Gardens Gallery) M-T. Wisniowski
My Southern Land (Galerie 't Haentje te Paart, Netherlands) M-T. Wisniowski
The Last Exhibition @ Galerie ’t Haentje the Paart
Mark Making on Urban Walls @ Palm House (Post Graffiti Art Work)
Fleeting - My ArtCloth Work Exhibited @ Art Systems Wickham Art Gallery
Timelines: An Environmental Journey
My Contribution to Lake Macquarie's Water Exhibition
The Effects of Global Warming - ArtCloth Exhibition@Rathmines Heritage Centre’s Boiler Room
ATASDA's ‘A Touch of Gold’ 50th Anniversary Exhibition - Part I
ATASDA’s ‘A Touch of Gold’ 50th Anniversary Exhibition - Part II
ATASDA's 'A Touch of Gold’ 50th Anniversary Exhibition - Part III


Introduction
The retrospective exhibition was held at Eden Gallery in Sydney. The underlying theme centered on Environmental Art – one aspect of my art continuum. The technique involves disperse dyes and the art medium is delustered polyester.

All artworks have been exhibited before, but not necessarily in the same exhibition. The philosophy underlying my “Environmental Art” strives to prick your consciousness to garner support for why sustainability is a necessary gift for life in general.

Entrance to Eden Gallery.
“Flames Unfurling” (left), “Summer Bolt” (center) and "Myaree1" (right).


When Rainforests Glowed – The Prehistory of Mankind
Artist’s Statement

The interaction between man and the environment is of growing concern as the human population is accelerating towards the 9 billion mark. Our quintessential needs of food, clothing, shelter, minerals and energy is placing enormous pressure on the biosphere. In particular, the rainforests that were so prevalent in the Carbonaceous era are becoming a diminishing feature on the Earth.

Sequestration of CO2

Sequestration: Detail photograph of diurnal pattern of photosynthesis.

Sequestration: Detail photograph of diurnal pattern of respiration.

The following details some interesting facts about rainforests: * Rainforests are home to 50% of the world’s animals and plant life. * Generally rainforests are being destroyed at a rate of 246,000 square kilometers a year. * The average rainfall of rainforests in general is around 2,000 mm per year. * The temperature of the rainforests is in the vicinity of 20-30oC. * Rainforests are in North and South America, Islands such as Indonesia, Africa and Australia etc. - that is, in tropical zones. * Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years.

Just like the screen printed poster art of yesteryear, I am trying to win the hearts and minds of viewers, not with slogans and defiant images but with artworks that contain luscious, deep colors, shadows and movement which expose rich surface layers, depth and imagery whilst hinting at elusive qualities — the spiritual, the miraculous, the resplendent, the majestic, the threatened. This underlying content provides a way of trying to hypnotize the viewer into unconscious support for sustainability.

Flames Unfurling.

Life Returning.

Re-Growth.

In prehistory (i.e. before history was chronicled by man) human beings had a steady state and sustainable relationship with the environment. This exhibition rests on the premise that rainforests are fragile in the modern world and are a threatened biological resource. Hence we need to move to the prehistory of man when rainforests glowed in order to develop once again a steady state and sustainable relationship with the environment.

Autumn Bolt (Four Australian Seasons).

Summer Bolt (Four Australian Seasons).

Winter Bolt (Four Australian Seasons).

Spring Bolt (Four Australian Seasons).


Technique and Media
Technique
Whilst most artworks are framed and so may appear to be on canvas, my medium of choice is a delustered polyester satin fabric, which gives further emphasis to the fragility of the content of the artworks. All works employ my signature technique that I invented, namely, my MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique involves disperse dyes and native flora on delustered polyester fabric.

Myaree I (left) and Sherbrooke (right).

Myaree I (full view).

Sherbrooke (full view).

The MSDS technique employs disperse dyes and involves hand printing multiple resists and multiple overprinted layers employing numerous color plates, mixed media and low relief plant materials.

Dancing Lightscapes (left) and Reflections (right).

Dancing Lightscapes (full view).

Reflections (full view).

The completed works are rich in color, light, shade, contrast, movement and depth. The multiple layers also imbue a painterly aesthetic and textural, three-dimensional quality to the finished ArtCloth works. Each print is unique and cannot be replicated.

Warrawee I (left), Warrawee II (center) and Cradle Mountain Splendour (right).

Warrawee I (full view).

Warrawee II (full view).

Cradle Mountain Splendour (full view).

In sublimation printing, once the dye has been painted on a paper and is dry, the painted side of the paper is placed on top of the fabric surface that is to be dyed. Then heat is applied via an iron or a heat press (under pressure) to the back of the dry, dyed paper. The dye vaporizes from the paper and infuses into the surface of the target fabric. The vapor dye reacts with the target fabric surface and adheres to it via ‘attractive’ forces. The heat of the iron serves a dual purpose: (a) it vaporizes the dye; (b) it assists the dye to infuse into the fabric surface and adhere to it.

Shadow Play (full view).

Memories (full view).

1 comment:

Cobi said...

terrific. I wish I could see this in person, up close. I love this