The Heathcote Cultural Precinct is Melville is presenting two new exhibitions in their Main Gallery and new Project Space this April, Apparition (pictured) by artist Harvey Mullen and Altar’d Lament by artist group Masonik.
Apparition is a solo exhibition by artist and printmaker Harvey Mullen. In a time of increasing sensitivity to climate change, the exhibition examines our connections to the natural world through a series of large-scale print and sculptural artwork.
In the Main Gallery, Mullen presents ghostly sculptures of trees reconstituted from fragments of bark. Alongside, intricate prints on paper are produced from the impression of technological waste.
Meanwhile, Altar’d Lament is the first scheduled exhibition to appear in the Gallery’s new Project Space program, which shows experimental and unconventional new art.
The artist group Masonik have produced an exhibition that examines migration, diaspora culture and history through sculpture, live music and video. It centres on the history of rebetiko, a form of Greek popular music that emerged from the 1922 destruction of the city of Smyrna.
City of Melville Mayor George Gear said the new Project Space provided exciting opportunities to showcase more local artists, as Heathcote Cultural Precinct continued to transform into a vibrant, innovative and creative community.
“Artist Harvey Mullen has produced a major new series of print artworks that show both careful technical mastery and an expressive energy. They consider the way people relate to nature today and to the longer tradition of landscape in art history,” said Mayor Gear.
“At the same time, artist group Masonik present an exhibition combining music performance, sculpture, video and exploring stories of migration. They make use of Heathcote Museum & Gallery’s new Project Space gallery, which privileges more experimental art forms.”
Heathcote Museum & Gallery Curator Jana Braddock said Heathcote Cultural Precinct had worked closely with Harvey Mullen for several years and was excited to present his major solo exhibition.
“Harvey is a founding member of the Swan River Print Studio, one of the many creative groups onsite. In 2017 he was part of our Artist in Residence program. As the winner of the 2019 Melville Art Awards, his work was acquired by the City and now hangs in our Collections Gallery.
“While developing this project, Harvey was often to be seen walking the grounds and gathering natural materials for his sculptures. It was also exciting to see him make use of the Project Space gallery to experiment and prototype his artwork ahead of this exhibition,” said Ms Braddock.
Mullen is a Perth based visual artist with particular interests in painting and printmaking. Born in Zurich and educated in England and Scotland, Mullen graduated with an MA (Hons) from Glasgow University in 1995.
He has exhibited in a number of group and solo shows in Scotland and Australia, with his work being held in public and private collections in Switzerland, the U.K. and Australia. In 2017, Mullen was artist in residence at Heathcote Cultural Precinct, and in 2019 his artwork won the City of Melville Art Awards.
Masonik is an Australian multi-disciplinary arts collective, who have performed and nationally and internationally since 2006. They combine experimental music with contemporary visual arts. The Masonik group includes Basil Psanoudakis, Pax Andrews, Wheldon Thornley, Tony Monaco and Patrick Bindon.
The exhibitions will officially open on Friday, 27 March 2020 at 6.00pm and will continue to run until Saturday, 26 April 2020. The galleries normal opening hours are Tuesday to Friday 10.00am to 3.00pm, Saturday and Sunday 12 noon to 4.00pm.
Source: Media Release
