AC Institute
Ubiquitous Object, Ambiguous Things –
Resisting Disappearance
Julie Shiels
April 2 – May 2, 2015
Opening Reception: Thursday, April 2 from 6-8 pm
547 W. 27th Street, #210 / acinstitute.org
Wed – Sat 1pm to 5pm
Ubiquitous object, Ambiguous Things – Resisting Disappearance is derived from the empty space found in clearplastic packaging. The transparent form of the empty vacuum package is both an object in itself and an echo of the commodity it once encased. In this exhibition, Julie Shiels attempts to reproduce the empty space left behind by consumption.
The voids in these ready-made molds have been amplified and transposed using two ephemeral materials: light and dried plaster. Shiels uses a combination of photograms and loose caste objects to visualize a trash item in a way that can be perceived beyond its status as commodity. The project seeks to reflect on the temporality, the materiality and the mutability of waste.
Biography
Julie Shiels has a Masters of Art from RMIT University (2006) and is currently completing a PhD at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, Australia. Julie has exhibited nationally in Australia and internationally. She has undertaken funded residencies at Red Gate Gallery in Beijing, China (2010 Toyota Travel Prize), and Hanoi, Vietnam (1997, Australia Council).
Her work has been acquired by public collections including National Gallery of Australia, State Library of New South Wales, State Library of Victoria, Baillieu Library (University of Melbourne), Australian Embassy, Hanoi, Vietnam, City of Banyule and Port Phillip Art Collections and many private collections.
