10 – 18 October 2020
“material is a means of communication. That listening to it, not dominating it makes us truly active, that is to be active, be passive. The finer tuned we are to it the closer we come to art.” Anni Albers
DUST + SCRATCHES was a group exhibition on show during Artweek Auckland. Belinda Griffiths, Diane Scott, and myself were interested in exploring the idea of ‘material as metaphor’ by responding to the unique Silo 6 space. Although as artists we work with varied materials our considered approach to materiality is the same.
This heritage building situated near the port of Auckland in Wynyard Quarter was originally used to store cement powder before it became distributed around the city. Six, 22 metre high silos form large rooms which join to make up the space. The walls are scratched and marked from previous use and arched doorways create repetitive lines of sight, an atmosphere very different from the white walls of a gallery.
Being a heritage building restrictions are in place which prevent drilling into the walls. This meant I had to be very selective around which works I could show in this space. I decided Spur of the Moment (fig. 1), was an appropriate work, functioning as a sculpture and drawing in space. Not only did this work have a relationship to Griffith’s and Scott’s use of line, drawing and gestural mark making, but, reinforcing mesh is also well known for its’ use to provide reinforced strength to concrete slabs and structural concrete walls. I enjoyed this connection. To think this same material would have been used initially to create the space, although not visible, it remains present and has an important role to play beneath the surface.
Mel Arnold 