Amygdala exhibition explores breath, memory and emotion
Two respected WA printmakers – Elmari Steyn and Shelley Cowper – have collaborated on a unique printmaking installation, Amygdala, as part of IOTA24 (the Indian Ocean Craft Triennial).
Exploring thoughts, memories and emotions connected to the transient nature of breath, the exhibition opens on Friday 20th September and runs until Sunday 27th October at the Painted Tree Gallery in Northcliffe.
Amygdala showcases Steyn and Cowper’s shared passion for printmaking and their willingness to push creative practice into uncharted territory.
Inspired by the amygdala, the small processing centre in the brain responsible for memory and emotion, the installation is an immersive experience featuring suspended clusters of fragile, layered paper spheres that generate, respond to, and confront personal experiences, thoughts and beliefs.
Evoking the barely visible existence of breath, individual artworks coalesce into patterns echoing the fleeting experience of our individual and collective lives. While both artists have exhibited together multiple times previously, the process of developing Amygdala has taken Steyn and Cowper into a far deeper experience of collaboration. The complexity of the project’s vision and the painstakingly detailed work involved has been grounded in constant interaction and iteration. Reciprocity of ideas and inspiration has meant the project is a true meeting of minds.
Geographic distance between Steyn’s Northcliffe home and Cowper’s Perth base increased the challenge of co-design and co-creation, overcome through constant communication. Both artists have tested new materials and creative approaches to arrive at an exhibition that challenges traditional display conventions for the printmaking craft.
Amygdala had a long and slow incubation, with numerous permutations en route. It communicates complex concepts with subtlety and fragility, inviting the audience into the layered nuance of our internal landscapes, the rise and fall of breath, and our desire to shape meaning and memory from existence.
Artist Tony Windberg will officially launch the exhibition on Friday 20th September from 3pm. The opening event is free and open to the public. Both artists will be present and will provide brief artist talks.
RSVP through the Southern Forest Arts website www.southernforestarts.com.au.