The Monk's Parlour

2nd October - 24 October 2010

Claire Lambe, Callum Perry, Lisa Young

 

The Monk’s Parlour

This exhibition draws inspiration from Sir John Soane’s (1753 -1837) eccentric London museum with its eclectic collection of curiosities, antiquities, the Picture Room crammed with paintings on folded screens, and below in the basement the Monk’s Parlour.

‘The Parlour contains a medley of objects, most, though by no means all, of a medieval character and intended to produce an atmosphere of studious gloom and to “impress the spectator with reverence for the monk’ (The Museum 2001:36)
Soane’s intentionally created a whimsical and quirky profile for this space that included a fictional character Padre Giovanni and the Monk’s Grave in the courtyard that contains the entombed remains of his late wife’s dog, Fanny. As a collector and museologist his approach to the accumulation and arrangement of objects was broad and seemingly lacked the clear themes, relationships or pedagogical value associated with traditional museum collections.

‘The Monk’s Parlour’, a collaborative exhibition by Claire Lambe, Callum Perry and Lisa Young, threads together an idiosyncratic body of work that plays with history and museum methods of display to reflect on contemporary culture. The artworks feed off each other creating an energy and vitality that moves beyond referencing collectors, collections, or the individual object.

Claire Lambe’s collection of objects has been made not acquired, and reflects an ongoing fascination with body materiality, decay, the abject, and ugliness, that can produce feelings of repulsion or desire. In particular, these concepts are explored through wax and bronze phallic sculptures that articulate the ephemeral and flawed nature of man and materials.

Callum Perry sculptures titled Standards 1, 2, and 3, each represent a life phase – youth, middle and old age. Cast in polyurethane (one partially in epoxy resin), the figures are stylistically influenced by the work of Giacometti, Picasso and Matisse. In checkerboard black and white, the figures embedded on organic pedestals have a totemic quality evoking a mythological, tribal past.

Lisa Young has used a traditional lithographic process to create a dystopian landscape that includes part of the Monk’s Parlour floor plan, abstracted and blended into this imaginary space. The print creates a ghostly perspective that taps into dusty memories associated with museums, their labyrinthine rooms, and an architectural style imbued with history and a classical antiquarianism.
Text by Christine Schmidt

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Opening Hours

Friday 6-8pm
Saturday + Sunday 2-6pm
or by appointment
ER: 0401346520
CL: 0448 381 651

Upstairs @
THE ALDERMAN
134 Lygon Street
Brunswick VIC 3056