Celebrating the launch of Mordant Collection Highlights, a publication devoted to the collection of Simon and Catriona Mordant.
"We never set out to build a collection. What has driven us is a passion to be surrounded by creative people, whether in the visual or performing arts. We have only purchased a work when it evoked a reaction in us ... We have never bought a work for a particular wall or because someone told us the artist was important. We have loved this journey together."—Simon and Catriona Mordant
Featured in the highlights are these pieces by Dani Marti, Anne Zahalka, Janet Laurence and John Young.
JANET LAURENCE x AESOP
JANET LAURENCE x AESOP
If you are in Sydney, pop down to Aesop's flagship store in The Strand for a special installation of The Fragrance Laboratory, a collaboration inspired by a number of Janet Laurence’s key works that feature labware and plant materials, including the acclaimed Elixir Lab, the H20: Water Bar and the monumental 2017 mixed-media work Matter of the Masters at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Aesop stores in Sydney and Melbourne have been cleared of all products, excluding fragrance, and transformed into immersive sensorial environments in a collaboration with Janet Laurence. The partnership is born of shared interests in art, science, memory and imagination, and a common dedication to creating a more sustainable future.
It has been lovely to work with Aesop and Luke Mortimer for this inspired collaboration. More to come in Melbourne next week, when The Fragrance Laboratory is launched in Flinders Lane!
'We share a philosophy that uses aesthetics to create an experiential space that can express wonder and a relationship between nature and science,’ said Laurence. ‘The focus of my work is the beauty and complexity of the natural world and the fragility of our environment. The collaboration with Aesop is a further exploration of these ideas.’
JANET LAURENCE artist residency talk at State Buildings in Perth
This week Janet Laurence will travel to Perth to take up an artist's residency in the iconic State Buildings in Perth.
During August, audiences will be invited to visit Laurence's studio and observe her process, from her exploration of initial concepts and materials, to how these emerge within her practice.
On 9 August, visitors can do just that, with a private viewing of Laurence's latest work where the artist will discuss her artistic journey, creative process, and the environmental themes that influence her work. This will be followed by an afternoon tea of finely curated teas and luxurious treats.
See @statebuildings website for bookings.
JANET LAURENCE finalist the 2024 William & Winifred Bowness Photography Prize
Congratulations Janet Laurence who has been selected as a finalist for the 2024 William & Winifred Bowness Photography Prize.
Janet is one of the 74 finalists that comprise this year's shortlist: one of the largest in the 19-year history of the prize. The judging panel considered close to 750 entries: Dr Peta Clancy, Brett Rogers OBE, and MAPh Director Anouska Phizacklea worked through the submissions to select a diverse representation of contemporary Australian photography in this year’s Bowness Photography Prize.
IMAGE: Janet Laurence, Moss water ice temperature rising, 2024, chromogenic print, oil paint, acrylic, 150.0 x 100.0 cm
MURRAY FREDERICKS, JANET LAURENCE & ANNE ZAHALKA Feature in the 2024 MAPh X Artist photography auction
MAPh X Artist photography auction
Book tickets now for your chance to bid on these three magnificent works by Murray Fredericks, Anne Zahalka and Janet Laurence.
MAPh has joined forces with artists to create a unique auction where we will share equally in the sale proceeds of their work, giving buyers the opportunity to have a direct impact on artists and their practice. MAPH is also offering absentee and telephone bidding.
MAPh X Artist photography auction
📅 Thursday 6 June 2024, 6pm for 7pm auction. Drinks and canapés on arrival
📍James Makin Gallery, 89 Islington St, Collingwood VIC 3066
Full catalogue including estimates and booking details via @maph_photography
IMAGES:
1. Murray FREDERICKS
BLAZE #28 2023
from the series BLAZE
pigment ink-jet print
120.0 x 150.0 cm
2. Anne ZAHALKA
You Are On Bondi Bidjigal Land! 2020
pigment ink-jet print on cotton rag
115.0 x 190.0 cm
3 - 5. Janet LAURENCE
In your verdant view 2020
Duraclear print on Shinkolite acrylic
4 panels, 30 x 28 cm each
Artist Talk with JANET LAURENCE & MAPh Director Anouska Phizacklea
Last week’s online talk with artist Janet Laurence and MAPh Director Anouska Phizacklea is now available to watch online here.
Learn about Tears of dust, Laurence's exhibition for PHOTO 2024 held at MAPh, discuss key moments in the artist’s remarkable career and hear about the ideas that drive her work.
JANET LAURENCE at Curtin University
Watch this magnificent behind-the-scenes film documenting Janet Laurence’s permanent site-specific installation CLIFF, installed at The School of Design and the Built Environment Building, at Curtin University, Perth.
“Imagine you are climbing a cliff, as you ascend the viewing staircase. CLIFF brings you the earth, not as a representation but as presentation of Earth itself, in the form of rocks each with its own story - of time, weather, movement, and formation." - Janet Laurence
This project was commissioned by Curtin University and completed with support from Event Engineering and Apparatus. The recently completed The School of Design building was designed by John Wardle Architects.
JANET LAURENCE - Tears of Dust
NEW PUBLICATION
Artist Janet Laurence created this captivating volume that encapsulates the many strands of her creative process and advocacy for the natural world that inform her exhibition 'Tears of dust', curated by MAPh Director Anouska Phizacklea.
Designed by Pidgeon Ward, this publication distills the essence of Laurence's practice into an artefact that marks not only this exhibition, but many years of inquiry, research and care. You can hear Laurence speak at the PHOTO 2024 Ideas Summit this Friday, where she'll be addressing 'Photography as activism' in 'The Alchemical Life: new ways of living on our fragile planet'.
'Tears of dust' is available in the MAPh shop via the link in our bio, where you can also find a link to purchase tickets for the Ideas Summit.
JANET LAURENCE x PHOTO 2024 Ideas Summit
ANET LAURENCE x PHOTO 2024 Ideas Summit
Janet Laurence is speaking in Melbourne at the PHOTO 2024 Ideas Summit. Her session is titled, 'Photography as Activism'.
Get tickets for this world first global forum, explore the future of photography.
Tickets are on sale now. Head to the offical PHOTO 2024 website for more details.
15 March
The Edge, Fed Square
Other speakers include:
Ryan McGinley (US)
Sunil Gupta (CA/UK)
Jahkarli Felicitas Romanis (Pitta Pitta)
Carmen Winant (US)
Boris Eldagsen (DE)
Sophia (SA)
Serwah Attafuah (AU, Ashanti/Akan)
Michael Najjar (DE)
Mark Andrejevic (AU)
Jo Duck (AU)
filip custic (ES/HR)
Kirsten Lyttle (Māori)
Janet Laurence (AU)
Isadora Romero (EC)
Daniel Jack Lyons (US)
Katrina Sluis (AU/UK)
Lauren Dunn (AU)
Dr Kirsten Garner Lyttle (Māori)
JANET LAURENCE solo exhibition 'Tears of Dust' opens at the Museum of Australian Photography (MAPh)
Janet Laurence’s immersive, multisensory installation Tears of dust reflects upon the fragility and power of the natural environment. Her intensely seductive and yet haunting evocations of the natural environment create encounters with our changing planet.
In this world premiere show, these wunderkammers (cabinets of curiosity) provide windows into our fragile ecosystem—of breathing forests, extreme weather events and dying glaciers—and offer a sense of connection with, and mourning of, our vanishing life world.
When encountering these familiar and yet otherworldly environments, we become profoundly aware of the interconnection of all life forms and the alchemical wonder of plants' ability to regenerate.
Janet Laurence, EDEN 11, Dye sublimation Photographs printed silk veils, video. Photo: Jackie Manning
JULIE RRAP & JANET LAURENCE Feature in Artists' Artists Podcast
JULIE RRAP & JANET LAURENCE were interviewed by Jennifer Higgie for the National Gallery of Australia's podcast 'Artists’ Artists', a five-part series connecting audiences with works of art from the national collection through the lens of contemporary artists.
The podcast invites audiences to learn more about some of the treasures and lesser-known works in the national collection, as well as gain insight into the personal life experiences and stories of Australian and international artists.
Episode 1: Julie Rrap
Julie Rrap is an Australian artist who was born in 1950 and lives in Warrang/Sydney. She has 15 works in the national collection, including multiple works from her monumental Persona and shadow series 1984. In this episode, she speaks about works of art by Sol Wiener, Sarah Lucas, Tracey Moffatt and Yukultji Napangati.
Episode 4: Janet Laurence
Janet Laurence is an Australian artist who was born in 1947 and lives in Warrang/Sydney. In 2020-21, her work was included in National Gallery exhibition Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now: Part One. Laurence has nine works in the national collection, including the large-scale installation Requiem 2020. In this episode, she speaks about works of art by Eva Hesse, Robert Smithson, Rosalie Gascoigne and Nyapanyapa Yunupingu.
MURRAY FREDERICKS AND JANET LAURENCE at Sydney Contemporary
ARC ONE Gallery has brought together two giants of contemporary Australian art. A strong visual heartbeat runs through the new work of MURRAY FREDERICKS and JANET LAURENCE, who are presenting the extremities of fire and ice at Sydney Contemporary.
Murray Fredericks’ much-anticipated series BLAZE is debuting in Australia at the fair. Using non-destructive methods, Fredericks creates phantastic images of fire and flood by conjuring dramatic fires within vast deluged river systems. Janet Laurence presents an extraordinary new body of work addressing her passionate concern for the plight of Antarctica. Both artists have the capacity to arrest audiences in their tracks and this display asks us to sit with some of the most important questions facing our planet this century.
Fredericks’ BLAZE series has bewitched audiences across the world. Undeniably intense, there is a biblical quality to Fredericks’ images. The making of BLAZE was documented in a behind-the scenes film that accompanies the display at Sydney Contemporary, giving audiences a glimpse into the epic lengths Fredericks goes to capture the perfect image.
Janet Laurence’s breath-taking series Once Were Forests creates visceral waves of intense feeling. They address Laurence’s research into ice climates; as she says, “All these glacial experiences live with me”. She has visited places such as Antarctica and Iceland, and a great gravitas lays at the very centre of these beautiful, layered works. We see our own sense of urgency reflected in her compositions. There are few who can resist the enfolding testimony that Laurence offers. We are compelled not to look away.
JANET LAURENCE Interviewed by Daniel Browning on The Art Show
JANET LAURENCE was interviewed by Daniel Browning on @abcradionational The Art Show this morning.
Click the link in our bio to hear Janet speak about her latest exhibition at ARC ONE, based on life-changing trips to Antarctica and Iceland, where she came face to face with melting glaciers.
'Once Were Forests' continues at ARC ONE until this Saturday 15 April.
JANET LAURENCE on display at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf
JANET LAURENCE's 'Breathing forest' (2022) is featured in 'Arboreal Narratives 2023: In Conversation' at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf.
This exhibition recognises the importance of trees and ecosystems to societal health.
'Arboreal Narratives 2023: In Conversation' continues until 30 April.
Janet Laurence, 'Breathing forest', 2022, 10 silk voile dye sublimation prints and video projection, 900 x 3000 cm (overall).
JANET LAURENCE Artist Talk 'Artists on the Ice: Interpreting the Poetics of Antartica'
ARTISTS' TALK
Across an evening of storytelling, performance and conversation, JANET LAURENCE will join a panel of four exceptional artists who have documented the power and beauty of Antarctica.
Moderated by the wonderful JULIE RRAP, in her role as Director of Sydney College of the Arts, this talk at the University of Sydney is not to be missed! Other panellists include Alice Giles AM, Professor Jean McNeil, and Dr Diana Chester.
Thursday, 20 April 2023, 6PM. This is a free event, but registration is essential, and seats are going fast! Register on the @sydney_uni website.
JANET LAURENCE presenting at 'Transhemispheric Dialogues' conference
JANET LAURENCE is presenting at the conference 'Transhemispheric Dialogues' at Loughborough University this Friday 17 March.
The conference brings together scholars, artists, curators and activists across four ‘long-clock’ roundtables, to explore the transformative potential of planetary feminisms for decolonial, ecological thinking and creative praxis in many and more-than-human worlds.
Janet will speak alongside Michelle Antoinette (Monash University), Deborah Hart (National Gallery of Australia), Anna Arabindan (Princeton University), Lisa Reihana (visual artist, Aotearoa, New Zealand), and Lize van Robbroeck (University of Stellenbosch).
You can watch the panel online via https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias/events/2023/march/planetaryfeminisms/
JANET LAURENCE launches Karina Dias Pires’s new book ‘Artists at Home’.
JANET LAURENCE will be launching Karina Dias Pires’s new book ‘Artists at Home’ tonight!
This fascinating publication features interviews and images with insights into the studio practice of 32 Australian women artists. Speaking on the impact of ‘home’ in her art making, Laurence will be in conversation with Dias Pires, alongside Camie Lyons and Louise Olsen.
Thursday, 1 December, 5—7PM
Olsen Gallery, Sydney.
JANET LAURENCE to deliver Gilbert Fellowship Lecture
Janet Laurence in her studio. Photo: Jacquie Manning.
This afternoon at 4pm, hear JANET LAURENCE deliver the Gilbert Fellowship Lecture at the Sydney College of the Arts.
Janet Laurence’s work echoes architecture while retaining organic qualities and a sense of instability and transience. Her work occupies the liminal zones or meeting places of art, science, imagination and memory. Profoundly aware of the interconnection of all life forms, Laurence often produces work in response to specific sites or environments using a diverse range of materials. Alchemical transformation, history and perception are underlying themes in her exhibition work. Hear the Gilbert Fellow speak to her practice and illustrious career.
JANET LAURENCE in Conversation at MGA
JANET LAURENCE joined MGA Director Anouska Phizacklea, along with other Bowness Photography Prize finalists Kiron Robinson, and Amos Gebhardt to discuss their diverse practices.
Exhibition continues until November 13.
Opening of the BOWNESS PRIZE Exhibition
JANET LAURENCE, HONEY LONG & PRUE STENT, CYRUS TANG and LYDIA WEGNER feature in this years Bowness Prize exhibition.
Over the last 17 years, the William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize has emerged as an important annual survey of contemporary photographic practice in Australia and one of the most prestigious prizes in the country.
Available to view at The Monash Gallery of Art until November 13.
Installation images courtesy of Monash Gallery of Art, photographed by Andrew Curtis.
