The artists in Never-Never Land take pre-existing cultural, commodity, musical and art-historical forms – such as maps, instruments, and icons from the modernist art canon – and repurpose them in their work. Engaging alternately in modes of critique, historicism and adaptation, some of these appropriations are literal, others are formal, whilst some are speculative and fantastical.

Exhibition Dates: 29 May – 21 June 2014

DYLAN MARTORELL

SANNE MESTROM

ESTHER STEWART

JAKE WALKER

&

SARAH CONTOS

The artists in Never-Never Land take pre-existing cultural, commodity, musical and art-historical forms – such as maps, instruments, and icons from the modernist art canon – and repurpose them in their work. Engaging alternately in modes of critique, historicism and adaptation, some of these appropriations are literal, such as Dylan Martorell working with found objects; others are formal, such as Esther Stewart’s appropriation of maps; whilst some are speculative and fantastical, as with Sanné Mestrom’s approach to modernism, or Jake Walker’s personal take on architectural history.

Repurposed and recycled objects form chaotic imagery in Dylan Martorell’s sound installation, costume and collage work. The artist employs music as a meditational tool, exploring notions of natural and artificial decay, renewal and reuse. Martorell has exhibited and performed nationally and internationally in commercial, artist-run and institutional spaces. He was recently included in the Kochi Muziris Biennale, India, 2012-13 and the Jakarta Biennale, Indonesia, 2011.

Sanné Mestrom deploys emblems of modernist art and design to inform her material-driven practice. Translating found objects and imagery through acts of replication and disruption, she investigates notions of lineage, originality and influence through feminised inversions of modernist art historical tropes. Mestrom was born in The Netherlands and moved to New Zealand as a child, relocating to Melbourne as an adult. She has exhibited in Australia and overseas, recent highlights including NEW13, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, 2013; Utopian Slumps at Art Basel Hong Kong, 2013 and Future Primitive, Heide Museum of Modern Art, 2013-14. Mestrom was winner of the John Fries Memorial Prize, Sydney, in 2011.

Esther Stewart’s hardedge abstraction plays with shape and colour to produce optical effects and tonal clashes. Her paintings mimic the lines of architecture and echo the visual language of plans and maps. Stewart has exhibited in artist-run and commercial spaces and has contributed to numerous public art projects throughout Australia. She recently co-curated the Das Boot Fair as part of the 2014 Next Wave Festival.

Artistic genres and traditional symbols are reshaped, hybridised and reimagined to suit Jake Walker’s conceptual designs. His multi-dimensional paintings are often worked and re-worked over a period of years, referencing modernist architecture and art history. Walker was born in Wellington, New Zealand, where he currently lives and works. Recent exhibitions include Jake Walker, Utopian Slumps at Art Basel Hong Kong, 2014; The Town Belt, Wellington City Gallery, 2014 and Melbourne Now, National Gallery of Victoria, 2013-14. He was winner of the inaugural Arkley Award in 2010 and his work is held in the Artbank, Chartwell and Joyce Nissan collections.

Sarah Contos’ work draws on her interest in Australian car culture and historical images of women presented as objects, turning it inside out by adding sensual, feminine and fetishist elements to elevate the ‘smutty’ into something revered. Ancient Greek statues and attica vessels are incorporated with elements from other cultures and time periods to collapse individual histories or geographical locations to form new mythologies. Contos recently exhibited in Future Primitive (curated by Linda Michael) at Heide Museum of Modern Art. In 2013 she was awarded the 4A Beijing Residency Program and in 2011 was the recipient of the Martin Bequest Travelling Scholarship.

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Sarah  Contos Come Over Me, In Me, With Me, On Me (Bogan Quilt), 2014; Screenprint on linen and lamé, various fabrics, poly-fil, acrylic paint, beads, sequins, button, thread; 255 x 140 cm; enquire
Sarah Contos Come Over Me, In Me, With Me, On Me (Bogan Quilt), 2014
Screenprint on linen and lamé, various fabrics, poly-fil, acrylic paint, beads, sequins, button, thread
255 x 140 cm
Sarah  Contos Emerge/ Retreat, 2014; Screenprint on linen and lamé, plywood, PVC, poly-fil, upholstery studs, glazed earthenware and stoneware, rope, Bronte beach sand; 147 x 80 x 106 cm; enquire
Sarah Contos Emerge/ Retreat, 2014
Screenprint on linen and lamé, plywood, PVC, poly-fil, upholstery studs, glazed earthenware and stoneware, rope, Bronte beach sand
147 x 80 x 106 cm
Sarah  Contos No Woman Is An Island, 2014; Glazed earthenware with melted marbles, PVC, poly-fil, plaster, wire, spray paint.; 94 x 40 x 50 cm; enquire
Sarah Contos No Woman Is An Island, 2014
Glazed earthenware with melted marbles, PVC, poly-fil, plaster, wire, spray paint.
94 x 40 x 50 cm
Sarah  Contos Night Falls as Night Watches, 2014; Screenprint on linen and lamé, plywood, calico, plaster, wire, PVC, poly-fil, light and electrical fixture, acrylic paint, upholstery studs, rope; 180 x 100 x 45 cm; enquire
Sarah Contos Night Falls as Night Watches, 2014
Screenprint on linen and lamé, plywood, calico, plaster, wire, PVC, poly-fil, light and electrical fixture, acrylic paint, upholstery studs, rope
180 x 100 x 45 cm
Sarah  Contos When There is Nothing, There is Everything, 2014; Screenprint on linen, poly-fil, glazed earthenware and stoneware beads, thread; 130 x 112 cm; enquire
Sarah Contos When There is Nothing, There is Everything, 2014
Screenprint on linen, poly-fil, glazed earthenware and stoneware beads, thread
130 x 112 cm
Sarah  Contos Year Of The Horse, 2014; Screenprint on linen, PVC, poly-fil, rope, wooden beads, Balinese woodwork, glazed earthenware and stoneware beads, synthetic wig; 227 x 80 cm; enquire
Sarah Contos Year Of The Horse, 2014
Screenprint on linen, PVC, poly-fil, rope, wooden beads, Balinese woodwork, glazed earthenware and stoneware beads, synthetic wig
227 x 80 cm
Dylan Martorell Divine Invasions - Jogjakarta, 2014; c-type print mounted on mdf; 60 x 42 cm; enquire
Dylan Martorell Divine Invasions - Jogjakarta, 2014
c-type print mounted on mdf
60 x 42 cm
Dylan Martorell Divine Invasions - Kuala Lumpar, 2014; c-type print mounted on mdf; 60 x 42 cm; enquire
Dylan Martorell Divine Invasions - Kuala Lumpar, 2014
c-type print mounted on mdf
60 x 42 cm
Dylan Martorell Divine Invasions - Dubai, 2014; c-type print mounted on mdf; 60 x 42 cm; enquire
Dylan Martorell Divine Invasions - Dubai, 2014
c-type print mounted on mdf
60 x 42 cm
Dylan Martorell Divine Invasions - Cairo, 2014; c-type print mounted on mdf; 60 x 42 cm; enquire
Dylan Martorell Divine Invasions - Cairo, 2014
c-type print mounted on mdf
60 x 42 cm
Dylan Martorell Divine Invasions - Abu Dhabi, 2014; c-type print mounted on mdf; 60 x 42 cm; enquire
Dylan Martorell Divine Invasions - Abu Dhabi, 2014
c-type print mounted on mdf
60 x 42 cm
Dylan Martorell Divine Invasions - Brunswick, 2014; c-type print mounted on mdf; 60 x 42 cm; Edition of 3; enquire
Dylan Martorell Divine Invasions - Brunswick, 2014
c-type print mounted on mdf
60 x 42 cm
Edition of 3
Dylan Martorell Negentropicalista, 2014; costume with touch-activated light and sound elements ; 230 x 90 x 70 cm; enquire
Dylan Martorell Negentropicalista, 2014
costume with touch-activated light and sound elements
230 x 90 x 70 cm
Sanne Mestrom Composition 2, 2013; bronze, ceramic, steel, enamel; 150 x 70 x 60 cm; enquire
Sanne Mestrom Composition 2, 2013
bronze, ceramic, steel, enamel
150 x 70 x 60 cm
Sanne Mestrom Composition 1, 2013; bronze, ceramic, steel, enamel; 115 x 70 x 60 cm; enquire
Sanne Mestrom Composition 1, 2013
bronze, ceramic, steel, enamel
115 x 70 x 60 cm
Sanne Mestrom Still life with nine objects, 1954, 2013; ceramic, steel, enamel; 125 x 100 x 60 cm; enquire
Sanne Mestrom Still life with nine objects, 1954, 2013
ceramic, steel, enamel
125 x 100 x 60 cm
Sanne Mestrom Composition 3, 2013; bronze, ceramic, steel, enamel; 85 x 70 x 60 cm; enquire
Sanne Mestrom Composition 3, 2013
bronze, ceramic, steel, enamel
85 x 70 x 60 cm
Sanne Mestrom Still life with small white cup on the left, 1931, 2013; ceramic, steel, enamel; 85 x 120 x 60 cm; enquire
Sanne Mestrom Still life with small white cup on the left, 1931, 2013
ceramic, steel, enamel
85 x 120 x 60 cm
Esther Stewart Clogs on Cobbles, 2014; enamel on board, framed; 120 x 90 cm; enquire
Esther Stewart Clogs on Cobbles, 2014
enamel on board, framed
120 x 90 cm
Esther Stewart Marple Hall, 2014; enamel on board, framed; 120 x 90 cm; enquire
Esther Stewart Marple Hall, 2014
enamel on board, framed
120 x 90 cm
Esther Stewart Modern Living, 2014; enamel on board, framed; 120 x 90 cm; enquire
Esther Stewart Modern Living, 2014
enamel on board, framed
120 x 90 cm
Esther Stewart Thematic Cartography, 2014; Enamel on board, framed; 120 x 90 cm; enquire
Esther Stewart Thematic Cartography, 2014
Enamel on board, framed
120 x 90 cm
Esther Stewart The Knack, 2014; enamel on board, framed; 120 x 90 cm; enquire
Esther Stewart The Knack, 2014
enamel on board, framed
120 x 90 cm
Esther Stewart Polly Wants So Much More Than a Cracker, 2014; enamel on board, framed; 120 x 90 cm; enquire
Esther Stewart Polly Wants So Much More Than a Cracker, 2014
enamel on board, framed
120 x 90 cm
Esther Stewart The Shape of Things to Come, 2014; enamel on board, framed; 120 x 90 cm; enquire
Esther Stewart The Shape of Things to Come, 2014
enamel on board, framed
120 x 90 cm
Esther Stewart Visual Compression, 0; enamel on board, framed; 120 x 90 cm; enquire
Esther Stewart Visual Compression, 0
enamel on board, framed
120 x 90 cm
Jake Walker Brick floors, 2014; acrylic on jute, artist's glazed stoneware frame; 38 x 34 cm; enquire
Jake Walker Brick floors, 2014
acrylic on jute, artist's glazed stoneware frame
38 x 34 cm
Jake Walker Untitled, 2014; acrylic on jute, artist's earthenware frame; 33.5 x 41 cm; enquire
Jake Walker Untitled, 2014
acrylic on jute, artist's earthenware frame
33.5 x 41 cm
Jake Walker Assemblage, 2014; acrylic, oil, wood, paint, jute, brush, artist's glazed stoneware frame; 38 x 41 cm; enquire
Jake Walker Assemblage, 2014
acrylic, oil, wood, paint, jute, brush, artist's glazed stoneware frame
38 x 41 cm
Jake Walker Untitled, 2012-13; oil and enamel on board; 41 x 51 cm; enquire
Jake Walker Untitled, 2012-13
oil and enamel on board
41 x 51 cm
Jake Walker Black painting 3, 2013-14; oil on board, artist's rimu frame; 37.5 x 48 cm; enquire
Jake Walker Black painting 3, 2013-14
oil on board, artist's rimu frame
37.5 x 48 cm