SPECULATIVE SPACES
Image: Kylie Banyard, VILLAGE ENTRANCE (object) 2012-13
“The model is a surrogate reality,” says curator David Eastwood.
You could be forgiven for thinking he refers to the otherworldly supermodel upon which our body image is rather unfortunately fashioned, but no, Eastwood speaks of the humble diorama.
In Speculative Spaces Eastwood has collected a mantelpiece worth of artists responding to the use of miniature models in their work, ranging from the Anna Carey’s exacting reconstructions of beach shacks to the childlike clay creations of Kylie Banyard. The tiny sets crafted to recreate nocturnal scenes in Mark Kimber’s photographs evoke the ominous if contained nature of childhood dreams, while Amanda Marburg’s realist portrayal of putty-like faces rendered from plasticine is at once funny and incredibly dark.
In each is the inviting promise of naive play and its sinister underbelly. Head along on March 9th for a floor talk from the curator and the artists, or on the eve of March 22nd pop in on your wanderings through Darlinghurst and Potts Point galleries for the Precinct Party, before ending up at the Foley St Pop Up Bar.
Until Mar 26, Robin Gibson Gallery, 278 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst, 9331 6692, robingibson.net
