LIGHTSCAPES / 24 November 2015 to 8 February 2016 at Rodda Lane and Knox Place
Surfacing showcases the work of 4 of the RMIT School of Art Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) candidates. For these artists, the production of their work is informed by the investigation of ideas, process and material. Through their studio practice they conduct speculative inquiry to explore the conceptual and theoretical concerns that underpins their artistic research.
Colleen Boyle
Colleen Boyle is a Melbourne-based artist whose current research interests include – visual perception and representation; photography; space exploration and space imaging; philosophical interpretations of imagination; and scientific imaging and observation. Initially trained as a printmaker at Monash University, Colleen's art practice has now diversified into working with photography, sculptural elements, light, shadow, geometry, projection and reflection.
Boyle completed her PhD in the RMIT School of Art in 2015. She still hopes to one day be an astronaut.
Location: Melbourne Central & Building 2 Lightwell
Sam Leach
Sam Leach’s virtuosic oil paintings are thematically and stylistically informed by the traditions of 17th century Dutch painting. His mimetic works conflate the poles of the metaphorical and the empirical in an ongoing investigation of the relationship between humans and animals.
In 2015 Leach featured in Time Space Existance, a collateral event of the Venice Biennale, and a major monograph with essays by Andrew Frost and Tim Winton. In 2009 he was a finalist for the Royal Bank of Scotland Emerging Artist Award, and in 2010 Leach won both the Wynne and Archibald Prizes at the Art Gallery of NSW. His work has been extensively exhibited nationally and internationally. Recent solo exhibitions include Sam Leach, Future Perfect, Singapore (2013); The Ecstasy of Infrastructure, TarraWarra Museum of Art, Victoria (2012); and Cosmists, 24HR Art-NT Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin (2010). Leach was recently included in the group shows Melbourne Now, NGV, Melbourne (2013); SkyLab, La Trobe Regional Gallery, Victoria (2013); Haunts and Follies, Linden New Art, Melbourne (2012); and First Life Residency in Landscape, Xin Dong Cheng Space for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2011).
Location: Melbourne Central & Building 2 Rear Courtyard
Charles O'Loughlin
Charles O'Loughlin's practice applies the techniques of administration—recording, organising, numericising and statistical analysis—to daily life as a methodological approach to determine form. The resulting works question what is left after administrative processes have appropriated daily life and the information produced by living.
O'Loughlin's solo (and two person) exhibitions include Melbourne’s Sarah Scout Presents (with Lynette Smith), TCB art inc., West Space, Kings ARI, Bus Projects and Chapter House Lane (with Lane Cormick). He has participated in group exhibitions at Enjoy Public Art Gallery, Wellington; Sullivan & Strumpf, Sydney; S.N.O., Sydney; and various Melbourne galleries, including Utopian Slumps, BLINDSIDE, Dianne Tanzer, Seventh and Block Projects. He completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at RMIT University in 2002, a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons.) at the VCA in 2007 and is currently a PhD candidate at RMIT University. Since 2011, O'Loughlin has been a committee member of TCB art inc.
Location: Melbourne Central & Rodda Lane
Renée Ugazio
Renée Ugazio uses metalsmithing and situation-specific art practices to explore the nature of material engagement and our understanding of being in time and place. Informed by her practice as a jeweller—and amplified or captured through photography and installation techniques—Ugazio’s work selects specific jewellery-making gestures and applies them to alternate—and often public—situations. Through this process the work investigates how a craft “out of context” might generate a renewed and attentive experience of place. In this current project Ugazio exploits the qualities of polishing, acrylic and light to engage in a site-specific exploration of Rodda Lane and Knox Place.
Ugazio is a Melbourne-based artist who currently undertaking a PhD by project at RMIT University entitled Shifting Sites.
Location: Melbourne Central & Rodda Lane